Pass h 95-7.
Book /^"^
eJ ^nz^f
COPKRIUHT DEPOSIT
LINCOLN IN 1861
From an Etching by T. Johnson after a Photograph
bv Hesler
The photograph was used by the sculptor Leonard W. Volk
in his studies for a bust of Lincoln
THE
WORKS
OF
ABRAHAM
LINCOLN
Speeches and Presidential Addresses
1859— 1865
Anecdotes and Conversations of Lincoln
By F. B. Carpenter
Introductions and Special Articles by
Theodore Roosevelt William H. Taft
Charles E. Hughes Joseph H. Choate
Henry Watterson Robert G. Ingersoll
And Others
Managing Editors
JOHN H. CLIFFORD
MARION M. MILLER
Volume V
THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY INC,
NEW YORK
. S7
■ 9'
LIBRARY of CONGRESS
Two Copies Received
_ 0<Wri»nt Entry
--.■
Copyright, 1907
By Current Literature Publishing Company
Copyright, 1908
By The University Society Inc.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface xiii
Introduction
Lincoln as Lawyer and Orator. By Joseph
Hodges Choate . • . . . . . xv
Speeches (December i, 1859, to February 28, 1861.)
Fragment of Speech at Leavenworth, Kansas.
December 5, 1859 I
Lecture Delivered before the Library Associa-
tion of Springfield, Illinois. February 22, i860 2
Address at Cooper Union, New York. Feb-
ruary 27, i860 ....... 14
Abstract of Speech at Kartford, Connecticut.
March 5, i860 -43
Speech at New Haven, Connecticut. March 5,
i860 50
Abstract of Speech at Norwich, Connecticut.
March 9, i860 76
Reply to the Committee Informing Him of His
Nomination for President by the Chicago Con-
vention. May 19, i860 . . . . .80
Acceptance of Nomination as President. May
23, i860 *. 80
[Platform of the Republican National Conven-
tion held in Chicago, May 16-18, i860] . . 81
Remarks at Springfield, Illinois. August 14,
i860 84
Remarks at Springfield, Illinois, at a Celebration
of His Election. November 20, i860 . . 85
Anonymous Editorial in the Illinois Journal.
December 12, i860 . . . . . .86
Remarks to Springfield Neighbors on Leaving
for Washington. February n, 1861 . . .86
vi CONTENTS
PAGE
Remarks at Indianapolis, Indiana. February n,
1861 87
Remarks to the Indiana Legislature, at Indian-
apolis. February 12, 1861 88
Remarks at Reception by Mayor and Citizens
of Cincinnati, Ohio. February 12, 1861 . . 91
Remarks to Germans at Cincinnati, Ohio. Feb-
ruary 12, 1861 94.
Remarks to the Ohio Legislature, at Columbus.
February 13, 1861 96
Remarks at Steubenville, Ohio. February 14,
1861 97
Remarks at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. February
15, 1861 98
Remarks at Cleveland, Ohio. February 15,
1861 102
Remarks at Buffalo, New York, February 16,
1861 105
Two-Minute Speeches. At Rochester, Syracuse,
and Utica, New York. February 18, 1861 ; at
Troy, Hudson, and Peekskill. February 19,
1861 107
Reply to Governor Morgan of New York, at
Albany. February 18, 1861 .... 108
Remarks to the New York Legislature at
Albany. February 18, 1861 .... 109
Remarks at Poughkeepsie, New York. Febru-
ary 19, 1861 in
Remarks at New York City. Februarv 19, 1861 . 112
Reply to the Mayor of New York City. Febru-
ary 20, 1861 114
Address to the Senate of New Jersey, at Tren-
ton. February 21, 1861 . . . . .116
Address to the Assembly of New Jersey, at
Trenton. February 21, 1861 . . . .117
Replv to the Mayor of Philadelphia. February
21, I*86l 119
CONTENTS vii
PAGE
Address on the Declaration of Independence.
In Independence Hall. February 22, 1861 . . 121
Address on Raising a Flag over Independence
Hall, Philadelphia. February 22, 1861 . . 123
Reply to Governor Curtin of Pennsylvania, at
Harrisburg. February 22, 1861 . . . 124
Address to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, at
Harrisburg. February 22, 1861 . . 125
Reply to the Mayor of Washington, D. C.
February 27, 1861 128
Reply to a Serenade at Washington, D. C. Feb-
ruary 28, 1861 129
Presidential Addresses (Mar. 4, 1861, to April 11,
1865)
First Inaugural Address. March 4, 1861 . . 133
Remarks upon Sectionalism to Pennsylvania
and Massachusetts Delegations. March 5, 1861 . 147
Remarks on Executive Policy to a Committee
from the Virginia Convention. April 13, 1861 . 148
Conference on Compensated Emancipation with
Border State Delegations. March 10, 1862 . 150
Response to Evangelical Lutherans on Depen-
dence upon Divine Guidance. May 6, 1862 . 156
Remarks to the Twelfth Indiana Regiment. On
the Nation's Dependence on the Army. May 15,
1862 157
Appeal to Border-State Representatives to Favor
Compensated Emancipation. July 12, 1862 . 158
Remarks on the McClellan-Stanton Controversy.
Made at a Union Meeting in Washington.
August 6, 1862 161
Address to a Deputation of Colored Men on
Colonization. August 14, 1862 .... 163
Remarks on Premature Emancipation to Repre-
sentatives of the Churches of Chicago. Septem-
ber 13, 1862 170
viii CONTENTS
PAGE
Remarks on Making the Emancipation Proc-
lamation Effective, in Response to a Serenade.
September 24, 1862 174
Remarks on the Divine Will, in Reply to an
Address by Mrs. Gurney. September 28, 1862 . 175
Meditation on the Divine Will. September 30,
1862 ■ . .176
Remarks on Benefits of the Union, Made at
Frederick, Maryland. October 4, 1862 . . 176
Remarks on the Subordination of the Adminis-
tration to the Government. Made to Members
of the Presbyterian General Assembly. May 30,
1863 1/7
Remarks on Notable Fourths of July, in Re-
sponse to a Serenade. July 7, 1863 . . . 179
Remarks on Temperance in the Army to a Dele-
gation of the Sons of Temperance. September
29, 1863 180
Address at the Dedication of the National Ceme-
tery at Gettysburg. November 19, 1863 . . 182
Address to General Grant on Commissioning
Him Lieutenant-General, with General Grant's
Response. March 9, 1864 183
Remarks on the Women of America, Made
at a Sanitary Fair in Washington. March 18,
1864 184
Remarks on the Interest of Labor in Respect-
ing Rights of Property, to a Committee of New
York Workingmen. March 24, 1864 . . 185
Address on the Definition of Liberty and the
Reported Massacre of Negro Troops at Fort
Pillow, Made at a Sanitary Fair in Baltimore,
April 18, 1864 . 187
Remarks on General Grant, in Response to a
Serenade. May 9, 1864 190
Replies to Methodist and Baptist Delegations.
May 14, 1864 191
Reply to the Committee Notifying President
Lincoln of His Renomination, with the Plat-
CONTENTS ix
PAGE
form of the Convention Nominating Him. June
9, 1864 192
Remarks on Support of the Army, to an Ohio
Delegation. June 9, 1864 196
Remarks on Swapping Horses in Midstream, to
a Delegation from the National Union League.
June 9, 1864 196
Remarks to an Ohio Regiment. June 11, 1864 . 197
Remarks on the Progress of the War, at a Sani-
tary Fair in Philadelphia. June 16, 1864 . . 198
Remarks on Amity with Italy, Made in Receiv-
ing Commander Bertinatti as Italian Envoy
Extraordinary. July 23, 1864 .... 201
Remarks on Democratic Strategy to Governor
Randall and Others. August 15, 1864 . . 202
Remarks on Inequalities of Taxation, to the
164th Ohio Regiment. August 18, 1864 . . 204
Remarks on the Value of American Citizenship,
Made to the 166th Ohio Regiment. August 22,
1864 205
An Appeal to the Soldiers to Resist Disaffection,
Made to the 148th Ohio Regiment. August 31,
1864 206
Remarks on Venezuela, Made in Receiving
Minister Bruzual. September 5, 1864 . . 208
Remarks upon the Holy Scriptures in Receiving
the Present of a Bible from a Negro Delegation.
September 7, 1864 209
Remarks on the Abolition of Slavery in Mary-
land, in Response to a Serenade. October 19,
1864 210
Remarks on Voting as You Fight, Made to the
189th New York Regiment. October 24, 1864 . 212
Remarks on Election Day, in Response to a
Serenade. November 9, 1864 .... 213
Remarks on the Benefits of the Elective System,
in Response to a Serenade. November 10, 1864 . 214
CONTENTS
Remarks on Maryland's Free Constitution, to
the Maryland Union Committee. November 17,
1864
Remarks on Sherman's March to the Sea, in
Response to a Serenade. December 6, 1864
Remarks on Edward Everett to a Committee
Presenting a Souvenir of Gettysburg. January
24, 1865
Remarks on the Constitutional Amendment
Abolishing Slavery, in Response to a Serenade.
January 31, 1865
The Hampton Roads Conference. February 3,
1865
Acceptance of the Office of President, Made to
a Notification Committee of Congress. Febru-
ary 9. 1865
Second Inaugural Address. March 4, 1865
Remarks on the Employment of Negroes in the
Confederate Army, Made to an Indiana Regi-
ment. March 17, 1865
Speech on the Reconstruction of the Southern
States. April 11, 1865
page
216
217
218
219
222
223
225
227
Conversations and Anecdotes
The History of the Emancipation Proclamation 237
Signinsr the Emancipation Proclamation
Interview with George Thompson
On Threats of Assassination .
On Critics of the Administration
Lincoln at the Soldiers' Home
On Shakespeare
Lincoln's Purity of Heart
Lincoln's Tenderness of Heart
Lincoln the Pardoner
The Amnesty Proclamation
. 241
• 243
. 245
. 247
. 250
. 252
• 254
• 255
. 256
• 259
CONTENTS
"The Scoundrel Will Get Off" .
"Public Opinion Baths"
Lincoln's Magnanimity
A Short Statute
Lincoln's Treatment of Insolence
"The Delegation from the Almighty'
On a Time-serving Clergyman
Lincoln's Paternal Love .
The Death of Willie Lincoln
Lincoln the Christian
On the Lord's Side .
The President and the "Powder Monkey'
Lincoln and the Negroes .
The Two Ruling Ideas of Lincoln's Life
Lincoln's Temperance Principles
No Vices, Few Virtues
Lincoln's Democratic Habits
Presidential Perquisites .
Lincoln's Personal Appearance
Lincoln's First Dollar
Lincoln's First Big Fee
Hannibal's Treasury
On Wall Street
Lincoln's Love of Humor .
"A Yard Full of Bulls" .
Instructions to Counsel
Close Construction \
Diplomatic Advice .
Setting Him at Ease
Democratic Abutments
CONTENTS
PAGE
Lincoln's Influence with the Administration . 294
Another Ward Heard From .... 295
Weeping Water 296
"Apple Overboard!" 296
"Sitting on the Blister" ..... 297
Sorry to Lose the Horses ..... 297
The Strength of the Confederate Forces . . 298
Chase's "Chin-fly" 298
Appointment of Chase as Chief Justice . . 299
Fremont's Cave of Adullam .... 300
Grant's Brand of Whiskey .... 301
On McClellan's Engineering Propensities . . 301
Borrowing McClellan's Army .... 301
A Convenient Escape 302
The Last Cabinet Meeting .... 303
Tad's Grief at His Father's Death . . . 304
PREFACE
The opening speeches of the present volume
were made by Lincoln when he had come to be
recognized as a national leader of the Republican
party. He delivered them in a tour of Kansas,
late in 1859, anc* in a tour of New York
City and neighboring New England cities early
in i860. At the Cooper Institute in New York
he delivered the most carefully prepared address
of his career. It also proved to be the most mo-
mentous, for it removed the impression, general
in the East, that Lincoln was a typical Western
"rough-and-tumble" orator, and gave him equal
standing as a serious exponent of his party's prin-
ciples with Seward, then the leading Republican
candidate for the coming nomination for the
Presidency.
Lincoln, while Presidential nominee, delivered
only a single speech, a few modest remarks in his
own city. At this time Senator Douglas, his
chief competitor for the office, was touring the
country, endeavoring by personal appeal to stem
the current of popular approval of Lincoln's
policies.
Lincoln's speeches as President elect were
disappointing to many ; but he considered it the
part of wisdom to temporize on issues that were
tearing the country asunder, till he was firmly
established in his office. In such speeches as
"Nothing is Going Wrong," and "The Crisis is
xiv PREFACE
Artificial," he exposed himself to the ridicule of
his enemies, and to the censure of many of his
•earnest supporters.
On the other hand, the Presidential speeches
are admirable in every respect. From the im-
promptu replies to serenades, to the immortal
address at Gettysburg and the sublime second in-
augural, the President's utterances possess that
supreme quality of oratory, the perfect adapta-
tion of word and sentiment to the spirit and needs
of the occasion.
The Conversations and Anecdotes that close
the volume form a logical appendix to the
speeches in their revelation of Lincoln's genius
and character. And since they relate particularly
to the crucial period of his statesmanship, when
he was planning and executing the Emancipation
Proclamation, they serve even more fittingly as an
introduction to the State Papers presented in the
succeeding volume of the series.
INTRODUCTION
Lincoln as Lawyer and Orator.
By Joseph Hodges Choate.
At the age of twenty-five Lincoln became a
member of the Legislature of Illinois, and he so
continued for eight years, and in the meantime
qualified himself by reading such law books as he
could borrow at random — for he was too poor to
buy any — to be called to the bar. For his second,
quarter of a century — during which a single term
in Congress introduced him into the arena of na-
tional questions — he gave himself up to law
and politics. In spite of his soaring ambition,
his two years in Congress gave him no premoni-
tion of the great destiny that awaited him, and
at its close, in 1849, we ^n(^ mm an unsuccessful
applicant to the President for appointment as
Commissioner of the General Land Office, a
purely administrative bureau — a fortunate escape
for himself and his country. Year by year his
knowledge and power, his experience and reputa-
tion extended, and his mental faculties seemed to
grow by what they fed on. His power of per-
suasion, which had always been marked, was de-
veloped to an extraordinary degree, now that he
became engaged in congenial questions and sub-
jects. Little by little he rose to prominence at the
bar, and became the most effective public speaker
in the West. Not that he possessed any of the
xvi INTRODUCTION
graces of the orator, but his logic was invincible,
and his clearness and force of statement im-
pressed upon his hearers the convictions of his
honest mind, while his broad sympathies and
sparkling and genial humor made him a universal
favorite as far and as fast as his acquaintance ex-
tended.
growth of Lincoln's influence
These twenty years that elapsed from the time
of his establishment as a lawyer and legislator in
Springfield, the new capital of Illinois, furnished
a fitting theatre for the development and display
of his great faculties, and with his new and en-
larged opportunities he obviously grew in mental
stature in this second period of his career, as if
to compensate for the absolute lack of advantages
under which he had suffered in youth. As his
powers enlarged, his reputation extended, for he
was always before the people, felt a warm sym-
pathy with all that concerned them, took a zealous
part in the discussion of every public question,
and made his personal influence ever more widely
and deeply felt.
CONDITIONS IN ILLINOIS
When Lincoln began practising law in Spring-
field, in 1837, life in Illinois was very crude and
simple, and so were the courts and the administra-
tion of justice. Books and libraries were scarce.
But the people loved justice, upheld the law, and
followed the courts, and soon found their favorites
among the advocates. The fundamental prin-
ciples of the common law, as set forth by Black-
stone and Chitty, were not so difficult to acquire,
INTRODUCTION xvn
and brains, common sense, force of character,
tenacity of purpose, ready wit, and power of
speech did the rest, and supplied all the deficien-
cies of learning.
The lawsuits of those days were extremely sim-
ple, and the principles of natural justice were
mainly relied on to dispose of them at the bar
and on the bench, without resort to technical
learning. Railroads, corporations absorbing the
chief business of the community, combined and
inherited wealth, with all the subtle and intricate
questions they breed, had not yet come in — and
so the professional agents and the equipment
which they require were not needed. But there
were many highly educated and powerful men at
the bar of Illinois, even in those early days, whom
the spirit of enterprise had carried there in search
of fame and fortune. It was by constant contact
and conflict with these that Lincoln acquired pro-
fessional strength and skill. Every community
and every age creates its own bar, entirely ade-
quate for its present uses and necessities. So in
Illinois, as the population and wealth of the State
kept on doubling and quadrupling, its bar repre-
sented a growing abundance of learning and
science and technical skill. The early prac-
titioners grew with its growth and mastered the
requisite knowledge.
LAW AND POLITICS
In those early days in the West, every lawyer,
especially every court lawyer, was necessarily a
politician, constantly engaged in the public dis-
cussion of the many questions evolved from the
rapid development of town, county, State, and
xviii INTRODUCTION
Federal affairs. Then and there, in this regard,
public discussion supplied the place which the
universal activity of the press has since monopo-
lized, and the public speaker who, by clearness^
force, earnestress, and wit, could make himself
felt on the questions of the day would readily
come to the front. In the absence of that im-
mense variety of popular entertainments which
now feed the public taste and appetite, the people
found their chief amusement in frequenting the
courts and public and political assemblies. In
either place he who impressed, entertained, and
amused them most was the hero of the hour.
They did not discriminate very carefully between
the eloquence of the forum and the eloquence of
the hustings. Human nature ruled in both alike,
and he who was the most effective speaker in a
political harangue was often retained as most
likely to win in a cause to be tried or argued.
HIGHER AMBITION
I have no doubt in this way many retainers
came to Lincoln. Fees, money in any form, had
no charms for him ; in his eager pursuit of fame
he could not afford to make money. He was am-
bitious to distinguish himself by some great ser-
vice to mankind, and this ambition for fame and
real public service left no room for avarice in his
composition. However much he earned, he
seemed to have ended every year hardly richer
than he began it, and yet as the years passed fees
came to him freely. One of $5,000 is recorded
— a very large professional fee at that time, even
in any part of America, the paradise of lawyers.
I lay great stress on Lincoln's career as a lawyer
INTRODUCTION xix
— much more than his biographers do — because
in America the profession of thklaw always has
been, and is to this day, the principal avenue to
public life, and I am sure that his training and ex-
perience in the courts had much m do with the
development of those forces of intellect and char-
acter which he soon displayed on a bloader arena.
LINCOLN ON THE PLATFORM \
After his great successes in the West Lincoln
came to New York to make a political address.
He appeared in every sense of the word like one
of the plain people among whom he loved to be
counted. At first sight there was nothing im-
pressive or imposing about him — except that his
great stature singled him out from the crowd;
his clothes hung awkwardly on his giant frame,
his face was of a dark pallor, without the slight-
est tinge of color ; his seamed and rugged fea-
tures bore the furrows of hardship and struggle ;
his deep-set eyes looked sad and anxious ; his
countenance in repose gave little evidence of that
brain power which had raised him from the low-
est to the highest station among his countrymen.
As he talked to me before the meeting he seemed
ill at ease, with that sort of apprehension which a
young man might feel before presenting himself
to a new and strange audience whose critical dis-
position he dreaded.
THE COOPER INSTITUTE ADDRESS
It was a great audience, including all the
noted men — all the learned and cultured — of his
party in New York ; editors, clergymen, states-
xx INTRODUCTION
men, lawyers, nerchants, critics. They were all
very curious to hear him. His fame as a power-
ful speaker hid preceded him, and exaggerated
rumor of his wit had reached the East, \\hen
Mr. Bryant presented him on the high platform
of the Coorer Institute a vast sea of eager, up-
turned faces greeted him, full of intense curiosity
to see wh?t this rude child of the people was like.
He was equal to the occasion. When he spoke
he was transformed; his eye kindled, his voice
rang his face shone and seemed to light up the
whole assembly. For an hour and a half he held
his audience in the hollow of his hand. His
style of speech and manner of delivery were se-
verely simple. What Lowell called "the grand
simplicities of the Bible," with which he was so
familiar, were reflected in his discourse. With
no attempt at ornament or rhetoric, without pa-
rade or pretence, he spoke straight to the point.
If any came expecting the turgid eloquence or
the ribaldry of the frontier they must have been
startled at the earnest and sincere purity of his
utterances. It was marvelous to see how this
untutored man, by mere self-discipline and the
chastening of his own spirit, had outgrown all
meretricious arts, and found his way to the
grandeur and strength of absolute simplicity.
He spoke upon the theme which he had mas-
tered so thoroughly. He demonstrated by co-
pious historical proofs and masterly logic that
the fathers who created the Constitution in order
to form a more perfect union, to establish justice,
and to secure the blessings of liberty to them-
selves and their posterity, intended to empower
the Federal Government to exclude slavery from
the Territories. In the kindliest spirit, he pro-
INTRODUCTION xxi
tested against the avowed threat of the Southern
States to destroy the Union if, in order to secure
freedom in those vast regions, out of which
future States were to be carved, a Republican
President were elected.
THE ORATOR CROWNED
He closed with an appeal to his audience,
spoken with all the fire of his aroused and kin-
dling conscience, with a full outpouring of his love
of justice and liberty, to maintain their political
purpose on that lofty and unassailable issue of
right and wrong which alone could justify it, and
not to be intimidated from their high resolve and
sacred duty by any threats of destruction to the
Government or of ruin to themselves. He con-
cluded with this telling sentence, which drove the
whole argument home to all hearts :
"Let us have faith that right makes might, and
in that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty
as we understand it."
That night the great hall, and the next day the
whole city, rang with delighted applause and con-
gratulations, and he who had come as a stranger
departed with the laurels of a great triumph.
SPEECHES AND PRESIDEN-
TIAL ADDRESSES
(1859-1865)
The Treason of Secession.
Fragment of Speech at Leavenworth, Kan.
December 5, 1859.
In response to invitations from Republicans of
Kansas Mr. Lincoln made a tour of that Territory from
December 1 to 5, 1859, speaking at Elwood, Troy,
Doniphan, Atchison, and Leavenworth. As indicated
by notes left by Mr. Lincoln, the substance of these
addresses is largely that of those delivered in Ohio in
the autumn. The speaker took the popular sovereignty
theory of Senator Douglas for his target, and riddled it
with shafts of piercing argument and irony, showing that
its essential principle was : "If one man would enslave
another, neither that other nor any third man has a
right to object." The following is a fragment delivered
at Leavenworth :
But you Democrats are for the Union ; and
you greatly fear the success of the Republicans
would destroy the Union. Why ? Do the Repub-
licans declare against the Union? Nothing like
it. Your own statement of it is that if the Black
Republicans elect a President, you "won't stand
it." You will break up the Union. If we shall
constitutionally elect a President, it will be our
duty to see that you submit. Old John Brown
2 SPEECHES EFeb. 22
has been executed for treason against a State.
We cannot object, even though he agreed with us
in thinking slavery wrong. That cannot excuse
violence, bloodshed, and treason. It could avail
him nothing that he might think himself right.
So, if we constitutionally elect a President, and
therefore you undertake to destroy the Union, it
will be our duty to deal with you as old John
Brown has been dealt with. We shall try to do
our duty. We hope and believe that in no sec-
tion will a majority so act as to render such
extreme measures necessary.
Lecture on "Discoveries, Inventions, and
Improvements."
Delivered before the Springfield Library
Association, Springfield, III. February
22, i860.*
We have all heard of Young America. He is
the most current youth of the age. Some think
him conceited and arrogant; but has he not
reason to entertain a rather extensive opinion of
himself? Is he not the inventor and owner of
the present, and sole hope of the future? Men
and things, everywhere, are ministering unto
him. Look at his apparel, and you shall see
cotton fabrics from Manchester and Lowell;
flax linen from Ireland; wool cloth from Spain;
silk from France ; furs from the Arctic region ;
wTith a buffalo-robe from the Rocky Mountains,
as a general outsider. At his table, besides plain
bread and meat made at home, are sugar from
* This speech had been delivered in whole or in part
in neighboring towns during the previous year.
i860] LECTURE ON INVENTIONS 3
Louisiana, coffee and fruits from the tropics,
salt from Turk's Island, fish from Newfound-
land, tea from China, and spices from the Indies.
The whale of the Pacific furnishes his candle-
light, he has a diamond ring from Brazil, a gold
watch from California, and a Spanish cigar from
Havana. He not only has a present supply of
all these, and much more; but thousands of
hands are engaged in producing fresh supplies,
and other thousands in bringing them to him.
The iron horse is panting and impatient to carry
him everywhere in no time ; and the lightning
stands ready harnessed to take and bring his tid-
ings in a trifle less than no time. He owns a
large part of the world, by right of possessing it,
and all the rest by right of wanting it, and in-
tending to have it. As Plato had for the im-
mortality of the soul, so Young America has "a
pleasing hope, a fond desire — a longing after"
territory. He has a great passion — a perfect
rage — for the "new"; particularly new men for
office, and the new earth mentioned in the Rev-
elations, in which, being no more sea, there
must be about three times as much land as in the
present. He is a great friend of humanity; and
his desire for land is not selfish, but merely an
impulse to extend the area of freedom. He is
very anxious to fight for the liberation of en-
slaved nations and colonies, provided, always,
they have land, and have not any liking for his
interference. As to those who have no land,
and would be glad of help from any quarter, he
considers they can afford to wait a few hundred
years longer. In knowledge he is particularly
rich. He knows all that can possibly be known ;
inclines to believe in spiritual rappings, and is
4 SPEECHES [Feb. 22
the unquestioned inventor of "Manifest Des-
tiny." His horror is for all that is old, particu-
larly "Old Fogy"; and if there be anything old
which he can endure, it is only old whisky and
old tobacco.
If the said Young America really is, as he
claims to be, the owner of all present, it must be
admitted that he has considerable advantage of
Old Fogy. Take, for instance, the first of all
fogies, Father Adam. There he stood, a very
perfect physical man, as poets and painters in-
form us ; but he must have been very ignorant,
and simple in his habits. He had had no suf-
ficient time to learn much by observation, and he
had no near neighbors to teach him anything.
No part of his breakfast had been brought from
the other side of the world ; and it is quite proba-
ble he had no conception of the world having
any other side. In all these things, it is very
plain, he was no equal of Young America ; the
most that can be said is, that according to his
chance he may have been quite as much of a
man as his very self-complacent descendant.
Little as was what he knew, let the youngster
discard all he has learned from others, and then
show, if he can, any advantage on his side. In
the way of land and live-stock, Adam was quite
in the ascendant. He had dominion over all the
earth, and all the living things upon and round
about it. The land has been sadly divided out
since ; but never fret, Young America will re-
annex it.
The great difference between Young America
and Old Fogy is the result of discoveries, inven-
tions, and improvements. These, in turn, are
the result of observation, reflection, and experi-
i860] LECTURE ON INVENTIONS 5
ment. For instance, it is quite certain that ever
since water has been boiled in covered vessels,
men have seen the lids of the vessels rise and fall
a little, with a sort of fluttering motion, by force
of the steam; but so long as this was not
specially observed, and reflected, and experi-
mented upon, it came to nothing. At length,
however, after many thousand years, some man
observes this long-known effect of hot water lift-
ing a pot-lid, and begins a train of reflection
upon it. He says, "Why, to be sure, the force
that lifts the pot-lid will lift anything else which
is no heavier than the pot-lid. And as man has
much hard fighting to do, cannot this hot-water
power be made to help him?" He has become a
little excited on the subject, and he fancies he
hears a voice answering, "Try me." He does
try it ; and the observation, reflection, and trial
give to the world the control of that tremendous
and now well-known agent called steam-power.
This is not the actual history in detail, but the
general principle.
But was this first inventor of the application
of steam wiser or more ingenious than those
who had gone before him ? Not at all. Had he
not learned much of those, he never would have
succeeded, probably never would have thought
of making the attempt. To be fruitful in in-
vention, it is indispensable to have a habit of ob-
servation and reflection ; and this habit our
steam friend acquired, no doubt, from those
who, to him, were old fogies. But for the dif-
ference in habit of observation, why did Yankees
almost instantly discover gold in California,
which had been trodden upon and overlooked by
Indians and Mexican greasers for centuries?
6 SPEECHES [Feb. 22
Gold-mines are not the only mines overlooked in
the same way. There are more mines above the
earth's surface than below it. All nature — the
whole world, material, moral, and intellectual — ■
is a mine ; and in Adam's day it was a wholly un-
explored mine. Now, it was the destined work
of Adam's race to develop, by discoveries, inven-
tions, and improvements, the hidden treasures of
this mine. But Adam had nothing to turn his
attention to the work. If he should do anything
in the way of inventions, he had first to invent
the art of invention, the instance, at least, if not
the habit, of observation and reflection. As
might be expected, he seems not to have been a
very observing man at first; for it appears he
went about naked a considerable length of time
before he ever noticed that obvious fact. But
when he did observe it, the observation was not
lost upon him ; for it immediately led to the first
of all inventions of which we have any direct ac-'
count — the fig-leaf apron.
The inclination to exchange thoughts with one
another is probably an original impulse of our
nature. If I be in pain, I wish to let you know
it, and to ask your sympathy and assistance ; and
my pleasurable emotions also I wish to com-
municate to and share with you. But to carry
on such communications, some instrumentality is
indispensable. Accordingly, speech — articulate
sounds rattled off from the tongue — was used
by our first parents, and even by Adam before
the creation of Eve. He gave names to the
animals while she was still a bone in his side;
and he broke out quite volubly when she first
stood before him, the best present of his Maker.
From this it would appear that speech was not
i860] LECTURE ON INVENTIONS 7
an invention of man, but rather the direct gift of
his Creator. But whether divine gift or inven-
tion, it is still plain that if a mode of communica-
tion had been left to invention, speech must have
been the first, from the superior adaptation to
the end of the organs of speech over every other
means within the whole range of nature. Of
the organs of speech the tongue is the principal ;
and if we shall test it, we shall find the capacities
of the tongue, in the utterance of articulate
sounds, absolutely wonderful. You can count
from one to one hundred quite distinctly in about
forty seconds. In doing this two hundred and
eighty-three distinct sounds or syllables are
uttered, being seven to each second, and yet there
should be enough difference between every two
to be easily recognized by the ear of the hearer.
What other signs to represent things could pos-
sibly be produced so rapidly? or, even if ready
made, could be arranged so rapidly to express the
sense? Motions with the hands are no adequate
substitute. Marks for the recognition of the eye,
— writing, — although a wonderful auxiliary of
speech, is no worthy substitute for it. In addi-
tion to the more slow and laborious process of
getting up a communication in writing, the mate-
rials— pen, ink, and paper — are not always at
hand. But one always has his tongue with him,
and the breath of his life is the ever-ready mate-
rial with which it works. Speech, then, by
enabling different individuals to interchange
thoughts, and thereby to combine their powers of
observation and reflection, greatly facilitates use-
ful discoveries and inventions. What one ob-
serves, and would himself infer nothing from, he
tells to another, and that other at once sees a
8 SPEECHES [Feb. 22
valuable hint in it. A result is thus reached
which neither alone would have arrived at. And
this reminds me of what I passed unnoticed be-
fore, that the very first invention was a joint
operation, Eve having shared with Adam the get-
ting up of th^ apron. And, indeed, judging from
the fact that sewing has come down to our times
as "woman's work," it is very probable she took
the leading part, — he, perhaps, doing no more
than to stand by and thread the needle. That
proceeding may be reckoned as the mother of all
"sewing-societies," and the first and most perfect
"World's Fair," all inventions and all inventors
then in the world being on the spot.
But speech alone, valuable as it ever has been
and is, has not advanced the condition of the
world much. This is abundantly evident when
we look at the degraded condition of all those
tribes of human creatures who have no consider-
able additional means of communicating thoughts.
Writing, the art of communicating thoughts to
the mind through the eye, is the great invention
of the world. Great is the astonishing range of
analysis and combination which necessarily un-
derlies the most crude and general conception of
it — great, very great, in enabling us to converse
with the dead, the absent, and the unborn, at all
distances of time and space ; and great, not only
in its direct benefits, but greatest help to all other
inventions. Suppose the art, with all concep-
tions of it, were this day lost to the world, how
long, think you, would it be before Young
America could get up the letter A with any ade-
quate notion of using it to advantage ? The pre-
cise period at which writing was invented is not
known, but it certainly was as early as the time
i860] LECTURE ON INVENTIONS g
of Moses ; from which we may safely infer that
its inventors were very old fogies.
Webster, at the time of writing his dictionary,
speaks of the English language as then consisting
of seventy or eighty thousand words. If so, the
language in which the five books of Moses were
written must at that time, now thirty-three
or -four hundred years ago, have consisted of at
least one quarter as many, or twenty thousand.
When we remember that words are sounds
merely, we shall conclude that the idea of rep-
resenting those sounds by marks, so that who-
ever should at any time after see the marks would
understand what sounds they meant, was a bold
and ingenious conception, not likely to occur to
one man in a million in the run of a thousand
years. And when it did occur, a distinct mark for
each word, giving twenty thousand different marks
first to be learned, and afterward to be remem-
bered, would follow as the second thought, and
would present such a difficulty as would lead to
the conclusion that the whole thing was imprac-
ticable. But the necessity still would exist ; and
we may readily suppose that the idea was con-
ceived, and lost, and reproduced, and dropped,
and taken up again and again, until at last the
thought of dividing sounds into parts, and mak-
ing a mark, not to represent a whole sound, but
only a part of one, and then of combining those
marks, not very many in number, upon principles
of permutation, so as to represent any and all of
the whole twenty thousand words, and even any
additional number, was somehow conceived and
pushed into practice. This was the invention of
phonetic writing, as distinguished from the
clumsy picture-writing of some of the nations.
IO SPEECHES [Feb. 22
That it was difficult of conception and execution
is apparent, as well by the foregoing reflection,
as the fact that so many tribes of men have come
down from Adam's time to our own without ever
having possessed it. Its utility may be conceived
by the reflection that to it we owe everything
which distinguishes us from savages. Take it
from us, and the Bible, all history, all science, all
government, all commerce, and nearly all social
intercourse go with it.
The great activity of the tongue in articulating
sounds has already been mentioned, and it may be
of some passing interest to notice the wonderful
power of the eye in conveying ideas to the mind
from writing. Take the same example of the
numbers from one to one hundred written down,
and you can run your eye over the list, and be
assured that every number is in it, in about one
half the time it would require to pronounce the
words with the voice; and not only so, but you
can in the same short time determine whether
every word is spelled correctly, by which it is
evident that every separate letter, amounting to
eight hundred and sixty-four, has been recog-
nized and reported to the mind within the incredi-
bly short space of twenty seconds, or one third of
a minute.
I have already intimated my opinion that in the
world's history certain inventions and discoveries
occurred of peculiar value, on account of their
great efficiency in facilitating all other inventions
and discoveries. Of these were the art of writ-
ing and of printing, the discovery of America, and
the introduction of patent laws. The date of the
first, as already stated, is unknown; but it cer-
tainly was as much as fifteen hundred years be-
i860] LECTURE ON INVENTIONS n
fore the Christian era ; the second — printing —
came in 1436, or nearly three thousand years
after the first. The others followed more rapidly
— the discovery of America in 1492, and the first
patent laws in 1624. Though not apposite to my
present purpose, it is but justice to the fruitf ill-
ness of that period to mention two other import-
ant events — the Lutheran Reformation in 1517,
and, still earlier, the invention of negroes, or of
the present mode of using them, in 1434. But to
return to the consideration of printing, it is plain
that it is but the other half, and in reality the bet-
ter half, of writing; and that both together are
but the assistants of speech in the communication
of thoughts between man and man. When man
was possessed of speech alone, the chances of in-
vention, discovery, and improvement were very
limited ; but by the introduction of each of these
they were greatly multiplied. When writing was
invented, any important observation likely to lead
to a discovery had at least a chance of being
written down, and consequently a little chance of
never being forgotten, and of being seen and re-
flected upon by a much greater number of per-
sons ; and thereby the chances of a valuable hint
being caught proportionately augmented. By
this means the observation of a single individual
might lead to an important invention years, and
even centuries, after he was dead. In one word,
by means of writing, the seeds of invention were
more permanently preserved and more widely
sown. And yet for three thousand years during
which printing remained undiscovered after
writing was in use, it was only a small portion of
the people who could write, or read writing ; and
consequently the field of invention, though much
j 2 SPEECHES [Feb. 22
extended, still continued very limited. At length
printing came. It gave ten thousand copies of
any written matter quite as cheaply as ten were
given before ; and consequently a thousand minds
were brought into the field where there was but
one before. This was a great gain — and history
shows a great change corresponding to it — in
point of time.
I will venture to consider it the true termina-
tion of that period called "the dark ages." Dis-
coveries, inventions, and improvements followed
rapidly, and have been increasing their rapidity
ever since. The effects could not come all at
once. It required time to bring them out ; and
they are still coming. The capacity to read could
not be multiplied as fast as the means of reading.
Spelling-books just began to go into the hands of
the children, but the teachers were not very
numerous or very competent, so that it is safe to
infer they did not advance so speedily as they do
nowadays. It is very probable — almost certain —
that the great mass of men at that time were
utterly unconscious that their condition or their
minds were capable of improvement. They not
only looked upon the educated few as superior
beings, but they supposed themselves to be natu-
rally incapable of rising to equality. To emanci-
pate the mind from this false underestimate of
itself is the great task which printing came into
the world to perform. It is difficult for us now
and here to conceive how strong this slavery of
the mind was, and how long it did of necessity
take to break its shackles, and to get a habit of
freedom of thought established. It is, in this
connection, a curious fact that a new country is
most favorable — almost necessary — to the eman-
i860] LECTURE ON INVENTIONS 13
cipation of thought, and the consequent advance-
ment of civilization and the arts. The human
family originated, as is thought, somewhere in
Asia, and have worked their way principally
westward. Just now in civilization and the arts
the people of Asia are entirely behind those of
Europe ; those of the east of Europe behind those
of the west of it; while we, here, in America,
think we discover, and invent, and improve faster
than any of them. They may think this is ar-
rogance ; but they cannot deny that Russia has
called on us to show her how to build steamboats
and railroads, while in the older parts of Asia
they scarcely know that such things as steam-
boats and railroads exist. In anciently inhabited
countries, the dust of ages — a real, downright
old-fogyism — seems to settle upon and smother
the intellect and energies of man. It is in this
view that I have mentioned the discovery of
America as an event greatly favoring and facili-
tating useful discoveries and inventions. Next
came the patent laws. These began in England
in 1624, and in this country with the adoption
of our Constitution. Before then any man
[might] instantly use what another man had in-
vented, so that the inventor had no special ad-
vantage from his invention. The patent system
changed this, secured to the inventor for a limited
time exclusive use of his inventions, and thereby
added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius in
the discovery and production of new and useful
things.
I4 SPEECHES IFeb. 27
Slavery as the Fathers Viewed It.
Address at Cooper Union, New York. Feb-
ruary 27, i860.
Mr. President and Fellow-citizens of Nezv
York: The facts with which I shall deal this
evening are mainly old and familiar ; nor is there
anything new in the general use I shall make of
them. If there shall be any novelty, it will be in
the mode of presenting the facts, and the in-
ferences and observations following that pres-
entation. In his speech last autumn at Colum-
bus, Ohio, as reported in the New York Times,
Senator Douglas said :
Our fathers, when they framed the government under
which we live, understood this question just as well,
and even better, than we do now.
I fully indorse this, and I adopt it as a text
for this discourse. I so adopt it because it fur-
nishes a precise and an agreed starting-point for
a discussion between Republicans and that wing
of the Democracy headed by Senator Douglas.
It simply leaves the inquiry: What was the
understanding those fathers had of the question
mentioned ?
What is the frame of government under which
we live? The answer must be, ''The Constitu-
tion of the United States." That Constitution
consists of the original, framed in 1787, and
under which the present government first went
into operation, and twelve subsequently framed
amendments, the first ten of which were framed
in 1789.
W7ho were our fathers that framed the Con-
stitution? I suppose the "thirty-nine" who
i860] AT COOPER UNION 15
signed the original instrument may be fairly
called our fathers who framed that part of the
present government. It is almost exactly true
to say they framed it, and it is altogether true to
say they fairly represented the opinion and senti-
ment of the whole nation at that time. Their
names, being familiar to nearly all, and accessible
to quite all, need not now be repeated.
I take these ' 'thirty-nine," for the present, as
being "our fathers who framed the government
under which we live." What is the question
which, according to the text, those fathers under-
stood "just as well, and even better, than we do
now" ■
It is this: Does the proper division of local
from Federal authority, or anything in the Con-
stitution, forbid our Federal Government to con-
trol as to slavery in our Federal Territories?
Upon this, Senator Douglas holds the affirma-
tive, and Republicans the negative. This affirma-
tion and denial form an issue; and this issue —
this question— is precisely what the text declares
our fathers understood "better than we." Let us
now inquire whether the "thirty-nine," or any
of them, ever acted upon this question; and if
they did, how they acted upon it— how they ex-
pressed that better understanding. In 1784,
three years before the Constitution, the United
States then owning the Northwestern Territory,
and no other, the Congress of the Confederation
had before them the question of prohibiting
slavery in that Territory;* and four of the
"thirty-nine" who afterward framed the Con-
stitution were in that Congress, and voted
* The bill was reported by Thomas Jefferson. It pro-
hibited slavery after 1800 above the parallel of 31 nortn
latitude. It failed to pass by one vote.
16 SPEECHES [Feb. 27
on that question. Of these, Roger Sherman,
Thomas Mifflin, and Hugh Williamson voted for
the prohibition, thus showing that, in their under-
standing, no line dividing local from Federal
authority, nor anything else, properly forbade
the Federal Government to control as to slavery
in Federal territory The other of the four,
James McHenry, voted against the prohibition,
showing that for some cause he thought it im-
proper to vote for it.
In 1787, still before the Constitution, but
while the convention was in session framing it,
and while the Northwestern Territory still was
the only Territory owned by the United States,
the same question of prohibiting slavery in the
Territory again came before the Congress of
the Confederation ; and two more of the "thirty-
nine" who afterward signed the Constitution
were in that Congress, and voted on the ques-
tion. They were William Blount and William
Few ; and they both voted for the prohibition — ■
thus showing that in their understanding no line
dividing local from Federal authority, nor any-
thing else, properly forbade the Federal Govern-
ment to control as to slavery in Federal territory.
This time the prohibition became a law, being
part of what is now well known as the ordinance
of '87.
The question of Federal control of slavery
in the Territories seems not to have been directly
before the convention which framed the original
Constitution ; and hence it is not recorded that
the "thirty-nine," or any of them, while engaged
on that instrument, expressed any opinion on that
precise question.
In 1789, by the first Congress which sat under
i860] AT COOPER UNION 17
the Constitution, an act was passed to enforce
the ordinance of '87, including the prohibition
of slavery in the Northwestern Territory. The
bill for this act was reported by one of the
"thirty-nine" — Thomas Fitzsimmons, then a
member of the House of Representatives from
Pennsylvania. It went through all its stages with-
out a word of opposition, and finally passed both
branches without ayes and nays, which is equiv-
alent to a unanimous passage. In this Congress
there were sixteen of the thirty-nine fathers who
framed the original Constitution. They were
John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman, Wm. S. John-
son, Roger Sherman, Robert Morris, Thos.
Fitzsimmons, William Few, Abraham Baldwin,
Rufus King, William Pater son, George Clymer,
Richard Bassett, George Read, Pierce Butler,
Daniel Carroll, and James Madison.
This shows that, in their understanding, no line
dividing local from Federal authority, nor any-
thing in the Constitution, properly forbade Con-
gress to prohibit slavery in the Federal territory ;
else both their fidelity to correct principle, and
their oath to support the Constitution, would
have constrained them to oppose the prohibition.
Again, George Washington, another of the
"thirty-nine," was then President of the United
States, and as such approved and signed the bill,
thus completing its validity as a law, and thus
showing that, in his understanding, no line divid-
ing local from Federal authority, nor anything in
the Constitution, forbade the Federal Govern-
ment to control as to slavery in Federal territory.
No great while after the adoption of the
original Constitution, North Carolina ceded to
the Federal Government the country now con-
18 SPEECHES [Feb. 27
stituting the State of Tennessee ; and a few years
later Georgia ceded that which now constitutes
the States of Mississippi and Alabama.* In both
deeds of cession it was made a condition by
the ceding States that the Federal Government
should not prohibit slavery in the ceded country.
Besides this, slavery was then actually in the
ceded country. Under these circumstances,
Congress, on taking charge of these countries,
did not absolutely prohibit slavery within them.
But they did interfere with it — take control of
it — even there, to a certain extent. In 1798
Congress organized the Territory of Mississippi.
In the act of organization they prohibited the
bringing of slaves into the Territory from any
place without the United States, by fine, and giv-
ing freedom to slaves so brought. This act
passed both branches of Congress without yeas
and nays. In that Congress were three of the
"thirty-nine" who framed the original Consti-
tution. They were John Langdon, George Read,
and Abraham Baldwin. They all probably voted
for it. Certainly they would have placed their
opposition to it upon record if, in their under-
standing, any line dividing local from Federal
authority, or anything in the Constitution, prop-
erly forbade the Federal Government to control
as to slavery in Federal territory.
In 1803 the Federal Government purchased
the Louisiana country. Our former territorial
acquisitions came from certain of our own
States; but this Louisiana country was acquired
from a foreign nation. In 1804 Congress gave a
territorial organization to that part of it which
* The cession by North Carolina was accepted by Congress
in 1790; that by Georgia in 1798.
i860] at cooper union i9
now constitutes the State of Louisiana. New
Orleans, lying within that part, was an old and
comparatively large city. There were other con-
siderable towns and settlements, and slavery was
extensively and thoroughly intermingled with the
people. Congress did not, in the Territorial Act,
prohibit slavery ; but they did interfere with it —
take control of it — in a more marked and ex-
tensive way than they did in the case of Mississ-
ippi. The substance of the provision therein
made in relation to slaves was :
ist. That no slave should be imported into the
Territory from foreign parts.
2d. That no slave should be carried into it who
had been imported into the United States since
the first day of May, 1798.
3d. That no slave should be carried into it,
except by the owner, and for his own use as a
settler; the penalty in all the cases being a fine
upon the violator of the law, and freedom to the
slave.
This act also was passed without ayes or nays.
In the Congress which passed it there were two
of the "thirty-nine." They were Abraham Bald-
win and Jonathan Dayton. As stated in the case
of Mississippi, it is probable they both voted for
it. They would not have allowed it to pass
without recording their opposition to it if, in
their understanding, it violated either the line
properly dividing local from Federal authority,
or any provision of the Constitution.
In 1819-20 came and passed the Missouri
question. Many votes were taken, by yeas and
nays, in both branches of Congress, upon the
various phases of the general question. Two
of the "thirty-nine" — Rufus King and Charles
20 SPEECHES XFeb. 2^
Pinckney — were members of that Congress. Mr.
King steadily voted for slavery prohibition and
against all compromises, while Mr. Pinckney as
steadily voted against slavery prohibition and
against all compromises. By this, Mr. King
showed that, in his understanding, no line divid-
ing local from Federal authority, nor anything
in the Constitution, was violated by Congress
prohibiting slavery in Federal territory; while
Mr. Pinckney, by his votes, showed that, in his
understanding, there was some sufficient reason
for opposing such prohibition in that case.
The cases I have mentioned are the only acts
of the "thirty-nine," or of any of them, upon
the direct issue, which I have been able to dis-
cover.
To enumerate the persons who thus acted as
being four in 1784, two in 1787, seventeen in
1789, three in 1798, two in 1804, and two in
1819-20, there would be thirty of them. But
this would be counting John Langdon, Roger
Sherman, William Few, Rufus King, and George
Read each twice, and Abraham Baldwin three
times. The true number of those of the "thirty-
nine" whom I have shown to have acted upon
the question which, by the text, they understood
better than we, is twenty-three, leaving sixteen
not shown to have acted upon it in any way.
Here, then, we have twenty-three out of our
thirty-nine fathers "who framed the government
under which we live," who have, upon their
official responsibility and their corporal oaths,
acted upon the very question which the text
affirms they "understood just as well, and even
better, than we do now"; and twenty-one of
them — a clear majority of the whole "thirty-
i860] AT COOPER UNION 21
nine" — so acting upon it as to make them guilty
of gross political impropriety and wilful perjury
if, in their understanding, any proper division
between local and Federal authority, or anything
in the Constitution they had made themselves,
and sworn to support, forbade the Federal Gov-
ernment to control as to slavery in the Federal
Territories. Thus the twenty-one acted ; and, as
actions speak louder than words, so actions under
such responsibility speak still louder.
Two of the twenty-three voted against con-
gressional prohibition of slavery in the Federal
Territories, in the instances in which they acted
upon the question. But for what reasons they
so voted is not known. They may have done so
because they thought a proper division of local
from Federal authority, or some provision or
principle of the Constitution, stood in the way;
or they may, without any such question, have
voted against the prohibition on what appeared
to them to be sufficient grounds of expediency.
No one who has sworn to support the Constitu-
tion can conscientiously vote for what he under-
stands to be an unconstitutional measure, how-
ever expedient he may think it ; but one may and
ought to vote against a measure which he deems
constitutional if, at the same time, he deems it
inexpedient. It, therefore, would be unsafe to
set down even the two who voted against the
prohibition as having done so because, in their
understanding, any proper division of local from
Federal authority, or anything in the Constitu-
tion, forbade the Federal Government to control
as to slavery in Federal territory.
The remaining sixteen of the "thirty-nine," so
far as I have discovered, have left no record of
22 SPEECHES [Feb. 27
their understanding upon the direct question of
Federal control of slavery in the Federal Ter-
ritories. But there is much reason to believe
that their understanding upon that question
would not have appeared different from that of
their twenty-three compeers, had it been mani-
fested at all.
For the purpose of adhering rigidly to the text,
I have purposely omitted whatever understand-
ing may have been manifested by any person,
however distinguished, other than the thirty-nine
fathers who framed the original Constitution;
and, for the same reason, I have also omitted
whatever understanding may have been mani-
fested by any of the ' 'thirty-nine" even on any
other phase of the general question of slavery.
If we should look into their acts and declara-
tions on those other phases, as the foreign slave-
trade, and the morality and policy of slavery
generally, it would appear to us that on the direct
question of Federal control of slavery in Federal
Territories, the sixteen, if they had acted at all,
would probably have acted just as the twenty-
three did. Among that sixteen were several of
the most noted antislavery men of those times, —
as Dr. Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and Gou-
verneur Morris, — while there was not one now
known to have been otherwise, unless it may be
John Rutledge, of South Carolina.
The sum of the whole is that of our thirty-nine
fathers who framed the original Constitution,
twenty-one — a clear majority of the whole — cer-
tainly understood that no proper division of local
from Federal authority, nor any part of the Con-
stitution, forbade the Federal Government to
control slavery in the Federal Territories; while
i860] AT COOPER UNION 23
all the rest had probably the same understanding.
Such, unquestionably, was the understanding
of our fathers who framed the original Constitu-
tion; and the text affirms that they understood
the question "better than we."
But, so far, I have been considering the under-
standing of the question manifested by the
framers of the original Constitution. In and by
the original instrument, a mode was provided for
amending it; and, as I have already stated, the
present frame of "the government under which
we live" consists of that original, and twelve
amendatory articles framed and adopted since.
Those who now insist that Federal control of
slavery in Federal Territories violates the Con-
stitution, point us to the provisions which they
suppose it thus violates; and, as I understand,
they all fix upon provisions in these amendatory
articles, and not in the original instrument. The
Supreme Court, in the Dred Scott case, plant
themselves upon the fifth amendment, which pro-
vides that no person shall be deprived of "life,
liberty, or property without due process of law" ;
while Senator Douglas and his peculiar adherents
plant themselves upon the tenth amendment, pro-
viding that "the powers not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution" "are reserved
to the States respectively, or to the people."
Now, it so happens that these amendments were
framed by the first Congress which sat under
the Constitution — the identical Congress which
passed the act, already mentioned, enforcing the
prohibition of slavery in the Northwestern Ter-
ritory. Not only was it the same Congress, but
they were the identical, same individual men who,
at the same session, and at the same time within
24 SPEECHES [Feb. 27
the session, had under consideration, and in prog-
ress toward maturity, these constitutional amend-
ments, and this act prohibiting slavery in all the
territory the nation then owned. The constitu-
tional amendments were introduced before, and
passed after, the act enforcing the ordinance of
'87; so that, during the whole pendency of the
act to enforce the ordinance, the constitutional
amendments were also pending.
The seventy-six members of that Congress, in-
cluding sixteen of the framers of the original
Constitution, as before stated, were preeminently
our fathers who framed that part of "the gov-
ernment under which we live" which is now
claimed as forbidding the Federal Government
to control slavery in the Federal Territories.
Is it not a little presumptuous in any one at
this day to affirm that the two things which that
Congress deliberately framed, and carried to ma-
turity at the same time, are absolutely incon-
sistent with each other? And does not such
affirmation become impudently absurd when
coupled with the other affirmation, from the same
mouth, that those who did the two things alleged
to be inconsistent, understood whether they really
were inconsistent better than we — better than he
who affirms that they are inconsistent?
It is surely safe to assume that the thirty-nine
framers of the original Constitution, and the
seventy-six members of the Congress which
framed the amendments thereto, taken together,
do certainly include those who may be fairly
called "our fathers who framed the government
under which we live." And so assuming, I defy
any man to show that any one of them ever, in
his whole life, declared that, in his understand-
1
i860] AT COOPER UNION 25
ing, any proper division of local from Federal
authority, or any part of the Constitution, for-
bade the Federal Government to control as to
slavery in the Federal Territories. I go a step
further. I defy any one to show that any living
man in the whole world ever did, prior to the be-
ginning of the present century (and I might al-
most say prior to the beginning of the last half
of the present century), declare that, in his under-
standing, any proper division of local from Fed-
eral authority, or any part of the Constitution,
forbade the Federal Government to control as to
slavery in the Federal Territories. To those
who now so declare I give not only "our
fathers who framed the government under which
we live," but with them all other living men
within the century in which it was framed, among
whom to search, and they shall not be able to
find the evidence of a single man agreeing with
them.
Now, and here, let me guard a little against
being misunderstood. I do not mean to say we
are bound to follow implicitly in whatever our
fathers did. To do so would be to discard all
the lights of current experience — to reject all
progress, all improvement. What I do say is
that if we would supplant the opinions and policy
of our fathers in any case, we should do so upon
evidence so conclusive, and argument so clear,
that even their great authority, fairly considered
and weigh, cannot stand; and most surely not
in a case whereof we ourselves declare they
understood the question better than we.
If any man at this day sincerely believes that a
proper division of local from Federal authority,
or any part of the Constitution, forbids the Fed-
26 SPEECHES [Feb. 27
eral Government to control as to slavery in the
Federal Territories, he is right to say so, and to
enforce his position by all truthful evidence and
fair argument which he can. But he has no
right to mislead others who have less access to
history, and less leisure to study it, into the false
belief that "our fathers who framed the govern-
ment under which we live" were of the same
opinion — thus substituting falsehood and decep-
tion for truthful evidence and fair argument. If
any man at this day sincerely believes "our
fathers who framed the government under which
we live" used and applied principles, in other
cases, which ought to have led them to under-
stand that a proper division of local from Federal
authority, or some part of the Constitution, for-
bids the Federal Government to control as to
slavery in the Federal Territories, he is right to
say so. But he should, at the same time, brave
the responsibility of declaring that, in his opinion,
he understands their principles better than they
did themselves ; and especially should he not shirk
that responsibility by asserting that they "under-
stood the question just as well, and even better,
than we do now."
But enough ! Let all who believe that "our
fathers who framed the government under which
we live understood this question just as well, and
even better, than we do now," speak as they
spoke, and act as they acted upon it. This is all
Republicans ask — all Republicans desire — in rela-
tion to slavery. As those fathers marked it, so
let it be again marked, as an evil not to be ex-
tended, but to be tolerated and protected only
because of and so far as its actual presence among
us makes that toleration and protection a neces-
i860] AT COOPER UNION 27
sity. Let all the guaranties those fathers gave
it be not grudgingly, but fully and fairly, main-
tained. For this Republicans contend, and with
this, so far as I know or believe, they will be
content.
And now, if they would listen, — as I suppose
they will not, — I would address a few words to
the Southern people.
I would say to them : You consider yourselves
a reasonable and a just people; and I consider
that in the general qualities of reason and justice
you are not inferior to any other people. Still,
when you speak of us Republicans, you do so
only to denounce us as reptiles, or, at the best,
as no better than outlaws. You will grant a
hearing to pirates and murderers, but nothing
like it to "Black Republicans." In all your con-
tentions with one another, each of you deems
an unconditional condemnation of "Black Re-
publicanism" as the first thing to be attended to.
Indeed, such condemnation of us seems to be an
indispensable prerequisite — license, so to speak —
among you to be admitted or permitted to speak
at all. Now can you or not be prevailed upon to
pause and to consider whether this is quite just
to us, or even to yourselves? Bring forward
your charges and specifications, and then be pa-
tient long enough to hear us deny or justify.
You say we are sectional. We deny it. That
makes an issue ; and the burden of proof is upon
you. You produce your proof; and what is it?
Why, that our party has no existence in your
section — gets no votes in your section. The fact
is substantially true ; but does it prove the issue ?
If it does, then in case we should, without change
of principle, begin to get votes in your section, we
28 SPEECHES IFeb. 27
should thereby cease to be sectional. You cannot
escape this conclusion ; and yet, are you willing to
abide by it? If you are, you will probably soon
find that we have ceased to be sectional, for we
shall get votes in your section this very year.
You will then begin to discover, as the truth
plainly is, that your proof does not touch the
issue. The fact that we get no votes in your
section is a fact of your making, and not of ourS:
And if there be fault in that fact, that fault is
primarily yours, and remains so until you show
that we repel you by some wrong principle or
practice. If we do repel you by any wrong prin-
ciple or practice, the fault is ours ; but this brings
you to where you ought to have started — to a
discussion of the right or wrong of our principle.
If our principle, put in practice, would wrong
your section for the benefit of ours, or for any
other object, then our principle, and we with it,
are sectional, and are justly opposed and de-
nounced as such. Meet us, then, on the ques-
tion of whether our principle, put in practice,
would wrong your section; and so meet us as if
it were possible that something may be said on
our side. Do you accept the challenge? No!
Then you really believe that the principle which
"our fathers who framed the government under
which we live" thought so clearly right as to
adopt it, and indorse it again and again, upon
their official oaths, is in fact so clearly wrong as
to demand your condemnation without a mo-
ment's consideration.
Some of you delight to flaunt in our faces the
warning against sectional parties given by Wash-
ington in his Farewell Address. Less than eight
years before Washington gave that warning, he
i860] AT COOPER UNION 29
had, as President of the United States, approved
and signed an act of Congress enforcing the pro-
hibition of slavery in the Northwestern Terri-
tory, which act embodied the policy of the gov-
ernment upon that subject up to and at the very
moment he penned that warning; and about one
year after he penned it, he wrote Lafayette that
he considered that prohibition a wise measure,
expressing in the same connection his hope that
we should at some time have a confederacy of
free States.
Bearing this in mind, and seeing that sectional-
ism has since arisen upon this same subject, is
that warning a weapon in your hands against us,
or in our hands against you? Could Washing-
ton himself speak, would he cast the blame of
that sectionalism upon us, who sustain his policy,
or upon you, who repudiate it ? We respect that
warning of Washington, and we commend it to
you, together with his example pointing to the
right application of it.*
But you say you are conservative — eminently
conservative — while we are revolutionary, de-
structive, or something of the sort. What is con-
servatism? Is it not adherence to the old and
tried, against the new and untried? We stick
* The passage in Washington's Farewell Address which
most explicitly warns against sectionalism is as follows :
"It is of infinite moment that you should properly esti-
mate the immense value of your National Union to your
collective and individual happiness, that you should cherish
a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it ;
accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of
the palladium of your political safety and prosperity ;
watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety ; and
indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of any at-
tempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest,
or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the
•various parts."
3o SPEECHES [Feb. 27
to, contend for, the identical old policy on the
point in controversy which was adopted by "our
fathers who framed the government under which
we live"; while you with one accord reject, and
scout, and spit upon that old policy, and insist
upon substituting something new. True, you dis-
agree among yourselves as to what that substitute
shall be. You are divided on new propositions
and plans, but you are unanimous in rejecting
and denouncing the old policy of the fathers.
Some of you are for reviving the foreign slave-
trade ; some for a congressional slave code for
the Territories ; some for Congress forbidding
the Territories to prohibit slavery within their
limits ; some for maintaining slavery in the Ter-
ritories through the judiciary ; some for the "gur-
reat pur-rinciple" that "if one man would enslave
another, no third man should object," fantastic-
ally called "popular sovereignty" ; but never a
man among you is in favor of Federal prohibition
of slavery in Federal Territories, according to the
practice of "our fathers who framed the govern-
ment under which we live." Not one of all your
various plans can show a precedent or an advo-
cate in the century within which our government
originated. Consider, then, whether your claim
of conservatism for yourselves, and your charge
of destructiveness against us, are based on the
most clear and stable foundations.
Again, you say we have made the slavery ques-
tion more prominent than it formerly was. We
deny it. We admit that it is more prominent,
but we deny that we made it so. It was not we,
but you, who discarded the old policy of the
fathers. We resisted, and still resist, your inno-
vation ; and thence comes the greater prominence
i860] AT COOPER UNION 31,
of the question. Would you have that question
reduced to its former proportions? Go back to
that old policy. What has been will be again,
under the same conditions. If you would have
the peace of the old times, readopt the precepts
and policy of the old times.
You charge that we stir up insurrections
among your slaves We deny it; and what is
your proof? Harper's Ferry! John Brown!!
John Brown was no Republican; and you have
failed to implicate a single Republican in his
Harper's Ferry enterprise. If any member of
our party is guilty in that matter, you know it,
or you do not know it. If you do know it, you
are inexcusable for not designating the man and
proving the fact. If you do not know it, you are
inexcusable for asserting it, and especially for
persisting in the assertion after you have tried
and failed to make the proof. You need not be
told that persisting in a charge which one does
not know to be true, is simply malicious slander.
Some of you admit that no Republican de-
signedly aided or encouraged the Harper's Ferry
affair, but still insist that our doctrines and dec-,
larations necessarily lead to such results. We
do not believe it. We know we hold no doctrine,
and make no declaration, which were not held to
and made by "our fathers who framed the gov-
ernment under which we live." You never dealt
fairly by us in relation to this affair. When it
occurred, some important State elections were
near at hand, and you were in evident glee with
the belief that, by charging the blame upon us,
you could get an advantage of us in those elec-
tions. The elections came, and your expectations
were not quite fulfilled. Every Republican man
32 SPEECHES [Feb. 27
knew that, as to himself at least, your charge was
a slander, and he was not much inclined by it to
cast his vote in your favor. Republican doctrines
and declarations are accompanied with a con-
tinual protest against any interference whatever
writh your slaves, or with you about your slaves.
Surely, this does not encourage them to revolt.
True, we do, in common with "our fathers who
framed the government under which we live,"
declare our belief that slavery is wrong; but the
slaves do not hear us declare even this. For
anything we say or do, the slaves would scarcely
know there is a Republican party. I believe they
would not, in fact, generally know it but for
your misrepresentations of us in their hearing.
In your political contests among yourselves, each
faction charges the other with sympathy with
Black Republicanism ; and then, to give point to
the charge, defines Black Republicanism to sim-
ply be insurrection, blood, and thunder among
the slaves.
Slave insurrections are no more common now
than they were before the Republican party was
organized. What induced the Southampton in-
surrection, twenty-eight years ago, in which at
least three times as many lives were lost as at
Harper's Ferry?* You can scarcely stretch your
very elastic fancy to the conclusion that South-
ampton was 'got up by Black Republicanism."
In the present state of things in the United
* In August, 1831, at Southampton, Va., Nat Turner,
a negro, led an insurrection of his fellow slaves
in the course of which more than sixty white people,
most of them women and children, were massacred. _ The
Abolitionists were charged with instigating the rising,
but their historians deny the allegation, and no proof has
come to light of their connection with the crime.
i860] AT COOPER UNION S3
States, I do not think a general, or even a very
extensive, slave insurrection is possible. The in-
dispensable concert of action cannot be attained.
The slaves have no means of rapid communica-
tion ; nor can incendiary freemen, black or white,
supply it. The explosive materials are every-
where in parcels ; but there neither are, nor can
be supplied, the indispensable connecting trains.
Much is said by Southern people about the
affection of slaves for their masters and mis-
tresses; and a part of it, at least, is true. A
plot for an uprising could scarcely be devised and
communicated to twenty individuals before some
one of them, to save the life of a favorite master
or mistress, would divulge it. This is the rule;
and the slave revolution in Hayti was not an ex-
ception to it, but a case occurring under pecu-
liar circumstances. The gunpowder plot of
British history, though not connected with slaves,
was more in point. In that case, only about
twenty were admitted to the secret ; and yet one
of them, in his anxiety to save a friend, be-
trayed the plot to that friend, and, by conse-
quence, averted the calamity. Occasional poi-
sonings from the kitchen, and open or stealth/
assassinations in the field, and local revolts ex-
tending to a score or so, will continue to occur
as the natural results of slavery ; but no general
insurrection of slaves, as I think, can happen in
this country for a long time. Whoever much
fears, or much hopes, for such an event, will be
alike disappointed.
In the language of Mr. Jefferson, uttered many
years ago, "It is still in our power to direct the
process of emancipation and deportation peace-
ably, and in such slow degrees, as that the evil
34
SPEECHES [Feb.
will wear off insensibly; and their places be,
pari passu, filled up by free white laborers. If,
on the contrary, it is left to force itself on,
human nature must shudder at the prospect held
up."
Mr. Jefferson did not mean to say, nor do I,
that the power of emancipation is in the Federal
Government. He spoke of Virginia; and, as to
the power of emancipation, I speak of the slave-
holding States only. The Federal Government,
however, as we insist, has the power of restrain-
ing the extension of the institution — the power
to insure that a slave insurrection shall never
occur on any American soil which is now free
from slavery.
John Brown's effort was peculiar. It was not
a slave insurrection. It was an attempt by white
men to get up a revolt among slaves, in which the
slaves refused to participate. In fact, it was so
absurd that the slaves, with all their ignorance,
saw plainly enough it could not succeed. That
affair, in its philosophy, corresponds with the
many attempts, related in history, at the assassi-
nation of kings and emperors. An enthusiast
broods over the oppression of a people till he
fancies himself commissioned by Heaven to
liberate them. He ventures the attempt, which
ends in little else than his own execution. Or-
sini's attempt on Louis Napoleon,* and John
Brown's attempt at Harper's Ferry, were, in
their philosophy, precisely the same. The eager-
ness to cast blame on old England in the one
* Felice Orsini was chief of a band of desperadoes that
attempted the life of Napoleon III. on January 14, 1858.
The plot had been hatched in London, and many French-
men bitterly charged the British with complicity in the
crime.
i860] AT COOPER UNION
35
case, ana on New England in the other, does not
disprove the sameness of the two things.
And how much would it avail you, if you could,
by the use of John Brown, Helper's book,* and
the like, break up the Republican organization?
Human action can be modified to some extent,
but human nature cannot be changed. There is
a judgment and a feeling against slavery in this
nation, which cast at least a million and a half
of votes, You cannot destroy that judgment and
feeling — that sentiment — by breaking up the po-
litical organization which rallies around it. You
can scarcely scatter and disperse an army which
has been formed into order in the face of your
heaviest fire ; but if you could, how much would
you gain by forcing the sentiment which created
it out of the peaceful channel of the ballot-box
into some other channel? What would that
other channel probably be? Would the number
of John Browns be lessened or enlarged by the
operation ?
* Hinton R. Helper, a North Carolinian, wrote, in 1857,
"The Impending Crisis of the South : How to Meet It,"
a book intended to show that slavery was inimical to the
interests of the non-slaveholding Southern whites. Of
this work, J. F. Rhodes says, in his '"History of the
United States from 1850":
"Although the writer's manner was highly emotional,
sincerity flowed from his unpracticed pen. The facts
were in the main correct ; the arguments based on them,
in spite of being disfigured by abuse of the slave-holders,
and weakened by threats, of violent action in a certain
contingency, were unanswerable. . . . The burden of
Helper's argument was that the abolition of slavery would
improve the material interests of the South by fostering
manufactures and commerce, thus greatly increasing the
value of land, the only property of the poor whites, and
giving them a larger market for their products. The
country and the cities would grow; there would be schools,
as at the North, for the education of their children,
and their rise in the social scale would be marked. . . .
Had the poor whites been able to read and comprehend
36 SPEECHES [Feb. 27
But you will break up the Union rather than
submit to a denial of your constitutional rights.
That has a somewhat reckless sound ; but it
would be palliated, if not fully justified, were
we proposing, by the mere force of numbers, to
deprive you of some right plainly written down
in the Constitution. But we are proposing no
such thing.
When you make these declarations you have
a specific and well-understood allusion to an as-
sumed constitutional right of yours to take slaves
into the Federal Territories, and to hold them
there as property. But no such right is specific-
ally written in the Constitution. That instrument
is literally silent about any such right. We, on
the contrary, deny that such a right has any
existence in the Constitution, even by implication.
Your purpose, then, plainly stated, is that you
will destroy the government, unless you be al-
lowed to construe and force the Constitution as
you please, on all points in dispute between you
and us. You will rule or ruin in all events.
such an argument, slavery would have been doomed to
destruction, for certainly seven voters out of ten in the
slave States were non-slaveholding whites. It was this
consideration that made Southern congressmen so furious,
for to retain their power they must continue to hood-
wink their poorer neighbors."
The book grew in favor in the North, and in 1859, it
was published for propagandist purposes in a cheap edi-
tion, which received the written approval of a number of
Republican Congressmen, including John Sherman, the can-
didate of his party for Speaker. Although Sherman ex-
plained that he had signed the indorsement by proxy in
a moment of thoughtlessness, he could not dissipate the
distrust of moderate Republicans whose votes were neces-
sary for his election. A long contest ensued, which Sher-
man ended by retiring in favor of William Pennington of
New Jersey, who was thought to be more conservative.
Mr. Pennington was promptly elected.
In 1861 Lincoln appointed Helper consul to Buenos
Ayres.
i860] AT COOPER UNION 37
This, plainly stated, is your language. Per-
haps you will say the Supreme Court has de-
cided the disputed constitutional question in your
favor. Not quite so. But waiving the lawyer's
distinction between dictum and decision, the
court has decided the question for you in a sort
of way. The court has substantially said, it is
your constitutional right to take slaves into the
Federal Territories, and to hold them there as
property. When I say the decision was made in
a sort of way, I mean it was made in a divided
court, by a bare majority of the judges, and they
not quite agreeing with one another in the rea-
sons for making it; that it is so made as that its
avowed supporters disagree with one another
about its meaning, and that it was mainly based
upon a mistaken statement of fact — the state-
ment in the opinion that "the right of property
in a slave is distinctly and expressly affirmed in
the Constitution."
An inspection of the Constitution will show
that the right of property in a slave is not "dis-
tinctly and expressly affirmed" in it. Bear in
mind, the judges do not pledge their judicial
opinion that such right is impliedly affirmed in
the Constitution ; but they pledge their veracity
that it is "distinctly and expressly" affirmed
there — "distinctly," that is, not mingled with any-
thing else — "expressly," that is, in words mean-
ing just that, without the aid of any inference,
and susceptible of no other meaning.
If they had only pledged their judicial opinion
that such right is affirmed in the instrument by
implication, it would be open to others to show
that neither the word "slave" nor "slavery" is
to be found in the Constitution, nor the word
38 SPEECHES IFeb. 27
"property" even, in any connection with language
alluding to the things slave or slavery ; and that
wherever in that instrument the slave is alluded
to, he is called a "person" ; and wherever his
master's legal right in relation to him is alluded
to, it is spoken of as "service or labor which may
be due" — as a debt payable in service or labor.
Also it would be open to show, by contempo-
raneous history, that this mode of alluding to
slaves and slavery, instead of speaking of them,
was employed on purpose to exclude from the
Constitution the idea that there could be prop-
erty in man.
To show all this is easy and certain.
When this obvious mistake of the judges shall
be brought to their notice, is it not reasonable to
expect that they will withdraw the mistaken
statement, and reconsider the conclusion based
upon it?
And then it is to be remembered that "our
fathers who framed the government under which
we live" — the men who made the Constitution — ■
decided this same constitutional question in our
favor long ago: decided it without division
among themselves when making the decision ;
without division among themseves about the
meaning of it after it was made, and, so far as
any evidence is left, without basing it upon any
mistaken statement of facts.
Under all these circumstances, do you really
feel yourselves justified to break up this govern-
ment unless such a court decision as yours is
shall be at once submitted to as a conclusive and
final rule of political action? But you will not
abide the election of a Republican president ! In
that supposed event, you say, you will destroy the
i860] AT COOPER UNION
39
Union ; and then, you say, the great crime of hav-
ing destroyed it will be upon us! That is cool.
A highwayman holds a pistol to my ear, and
mutters through his teeth, "Stand and deliver,
or I shall kill you, and then you will be a mur-
derer!"
To be sure, what the robber demanded of me
— my money — was my own; and I had a clear
right to keep it ; but it was no more my own than
my vote is my own; and the threat of death to
me, to extort my money, and the threat of de-
struction to the Union, to extort my vote, can
scarcely be distinguished in principle.
A few words now to Republicans. It is ex-
ceedingly desirable that all parts of this great
Confederacy shall be at peace, and in harmony
one with another. Let us Republicans do our
part to have it so. Even though much provoked,
let us do nothing through passion and ill temper.
Even though the Southern people will not so
much as listen to us, let us calmly consider their
demands, and yield to them if, in our deliberate
view of our duty, we possibly can. Judging by
all they say and do, and by the subject and nature
of their controversy with us, let us determine, if
we can, what will satisfy them.
Will they be satisfied if the Territories be un-
conditionally surrendered to them? We know
they will not. In all their present complaints
against us, the Territories are scarcely men-
tioned. Invasions and insurrections are the rage
now. Will it satisfy them if, in the future, we
have nothing to do with invasions and insurrec-
tions? We know it will not. We so know, be-
cause we know we never had anything to do with
invasions and insurrections ; and yet this total
40 SPEECHES IFeb. 27
abstaining does not exempt us from the charge
?.nd the denunciation.
The question recurs, What will satisfy them?
Simply this : we must not only let them alone, but
we must somehow convince them that we do let
them alone. This, we know by experience, is
no easy task. We have been so trying to con-
vince them from the very beginning of our
organization, but with no success. In all our
platforms and speeches we have constantly pro-
tested our purpose to let them alone; but this
has had no tendency to convince them. Alike
unavailing to convince them is the fact that they
have never detected a man of us in any attempt
to disturb them.
These natural and apparently adequate means
all failing, what will convince them? This, and
this only: cease to call slavery wrong, and join
them in calling it right. And this must be done
thoroughly — done in acts as well as in words.
Silence will not be tolerated — we must place our-
selves avowedly with them. Senator Douglas's
new sedition law must be enacted and enforced,
suppressing all declarations that slavery is wrong,
whether made in politics, in presses, in pulpits,
or in private. We must arrest and return their
fugitive slaves with greedy pleasure. We must
pull down our free- State constitutions. The
whole atmosphere must be disinfected from all
taint of opposition to slavery, before they will
cease to believe that all their troubles proceed
from us.
I am quite aware they do not state their case
precisely in this way. Most of them would
probably say to us, "Let us alone ; do nothing to
us, and say what you please about slavery." But
i36o] AT COOPER UNION 41
we do let them alone, — have never disturbed
them, — so that, after all, it is what we say which
dissatisfies them. They will continue to accuse
us of doing, until we cease saying.
I am also aware that they have not as yet in
terms demanded the overthrow of our free-
State constitutions. Yet those constitutions de-
clare the wrong of slavery with more solemn
emphasis than do all other sayings against it ; and
when all these other sayings shall have been
silenced, the overthrow of these constitutions will
be demanded, and nothing be left to resist the
demand. It is nothing to the contrary that they
do not demand the whole of this just now. De-
manding what they do, and for the reason they
do, they can voluntarily stop nowhere short of
this consummation. Holding as they do that
slavery is morally right and socially elevating,
they cannot cease to demand a full national
recognition of it, as a legal right and a social
blessing.
Nor can we justifiably withhold this on any
ground save our conviction that slavery is wrong.
If slavery is right, all words, acts, laws, and con-
stitutions against it are themselves wrong, and
should be silenced and swept away. If it is right,
we cannot justly object to its nationality — its
universality; if it is wrong, they cannot justly
insist upon its extension — its enlargement. All
they ask we could readily grant, if we thought
slavery right; all we ask they could as readily
grant, if they thought it wrong. Their thinking
it right, and our thinking it wrong, is the precise
fact upon which depends the whole controversy.
Thinking it right, as they do, they are not to
blame for desiring its full recognition as being
42 SPEECHES [Mar. 5
right; but thinking it wrong, as we do, can we
yield to them ? Can we cast our votes with their
view, and against our own? In view of our
moral, social, and political responsibilities, can
we do this?
Wrong as we think slavery is, we can yet af-
ford to let it alone where it is, because that much
is due to the necessity arising from its actual
presence in the nation; but can we, while our
votes will prevent it, allow it to spread into the
national Territories and to overrun us here in
these free States?
If our sense of duty forbids this, then let us
stand by our duty fearlessly and effectively. Let
us be diverted by none of those sophistical con-
trivances wherewith we are so industriously plied
and belabored — contrivances such as groping for
some middle ground between the right and the
wrong ; vain as the search for a man who should
be neither a living man nor a dead man; such as
a policy of "don't care" on a question about which
all true men do care; such as Union appeals be-
seeching true Union men to yield to Disunionists,
reversing the divine rule, and calling, not the sin-
ners, but the righteous to repentance; such as
invocations to Washington, imploring men to un-
say what Washington said and undo what Wash-
ington did.
Neither let us be slandered from our duty by
false accusations against us, nor frightened from
it by menaces of destruction to the government,
nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith
that right makes might; and in that faith let us
to the end dare to do our duty as we understand
it.
i860] AT HARTFORD 43
Slavery the Enemy of the Free Workingmen.
Abstract of Speech at Hartford, Conn.
March 5, i860.
Slavery is the great political question of the
nation. Though all desire its settlement, it still
remains the all-pervading question of the day.
It has been so especially for the past six years.
It is indeed older than the Revolution — rising,
subsiding, then rising again, till '54, since which
time it has been constantly augmenting. Those
who occasioned the Lecompton imbroglio now
admit that they see no end to it. It had been
their cry that the vexed question was just about
to be settled — "the tail of this hideous creature
is just going out of sight." That cry is played
out, and has ceased.
Why, when all desire to have this controversy
settled, can we not settle it satisfactorily? One
reason is, we want it settled in different ways.
Each faction has a different plan — they pull dif-
ferent ways, and neither has a decided majority.
In my humble opinion, the importance. and mag-
nitude of the question is underrated, even by our
wisest men. If I be right, the first thing is to get
a just estimate of the evil ; then we can provide a
cure.
One-sixth, and a little more, of the popula-
tion of the United States are slaves, looked upon
as property, as nothing but property. The cash
value of these slaves, at a moderate estimate, is
$2,000,000,000. This amount of property value
has a vast influence on the minds of its owners,
very naturally. The same amount of property
would have an equal influence upon us if owned
in the North. Human nature is the same — people
44 SPEECHES [Mar. 5
at the South are the same as those at the North,
barring the difference in circumstances. Public
opinion is founded, to a great extent, on a prop-
erty basis. What lessens the value of property
is opposed; what enhances its value is favored.
Public opinion at the South regards slaves as
property, and insists upon treating them like
other property.
On the other hand, the free States carry on
their government on the principle of the equality
of men. We think slavery is morally wrong,
and a direct violation of that principle. We
all think it wrong. It is clearly proved, I think,
by natural theology, apart from revelation.
Every man, black, white, or yellow, has a mouth
to be fed, and two hands with which to feed it —
and bread should be allowed to go to that mouth
without controversy.
Slavery is wrong in its effect upon white peo-
ple and free labor. It is the only thing that
threatens the Union. It makes what Senator
Seward has been much abused for calling an "ir-
repressible conflict." When they get ready to
settle it, we hope they will let us know. Public
opinion settles every question here ; any policy to
be permanent must have public opinion at the
bottom — something in accordance with the
philosophy of the human mind as it is. The
property basis will have its weight. The love of
property and a consciousness of right or wrong
have conflicting places in our organization, which
often make a man's course seem crooked, his
conduct a riddle.
Some men would make it a question of in-
difference, neither right nor wrong, merely a
question of dollars and cents; — the Almighty
i860] AT HARTFORD 45
has drawn a line across the land, below which it
must be cultivated by slave labor, above which
by free labor. They would say : "If the question
is between the white man and the negro, I am
for the white man; if between the negro and
the crocodile, I am for the negro." There is a
strong effort to make this policy of indifference
prevail, but it cannot be a durable one. A "don't
care" policy won't prevail, for everybody does
care.
Is there a Democrat, especially one of the
Douglas wing, but will declare that the Declara-
tion of Independence has no application to the
negro? It would be safe to offer a moderate
premium for such a man. I have asked this
question in large audiences where they were in
the habit of answering right out, but no one
would say otherwise. Not one of them said it
five years ago. I never heard it till I heard it
from the lips of Judge Douglas. True, some
men boldly took the bull by the horns and said
the Declaration of Independence was not true!
They didn't sneak around the question. I say I
heard first from Douglas that the Declaration
did not apply to the black man. Not a man of
them said it till then — they all say it now. This
is a long stride toward establishing the policy of
indifference — one more such stride, I think,
would do it.
The proposition that there is a struggle be-
tween the white man and the negro contains a
falsehood. There is no struggle. If there was,
I should be for the white man. If two men are
adrift at sea on a plank which will bear up but
one, the law justifies either in pushing the other
off. I never had to struggle to keep a negro
46 SPEECHES [Mar. 5
from enslaving me, nor did a negro ever have to
fight to keep me from enslaving him. They say,
between the crocodile and the negro, they go for
the negro. The logical proportion is, therefore,
as a white man is to a negro, so is a negro to a
crocodile, or as a negro may treat the crocodile,
so the white man may treat the negro. The
"don't care" policy leads just as surely to na-
tionalizing slavery as JefT Davis himself, but the
doctrine is more dangerous because more in-
sidious.
If the Republicans, who think slavery is
wrong, get possession of the General Govern-
ment, we may not root out the evil at once, but
may at least prevent its extension. If I find a
venomous snake lying on the open prairie, I
seize the first stick and kill him at once; but if
that snake is in bed with my children, I must be
more cautious; — I shall, in striking the snake,
also strike the children, or arouse the reptile to
bite the children. Slavery is the venomous
snake in bed with the children. But if the ques-
tion is whether to kill it on the prairie or put it
in bed with the other children, I am inclined to
think we'd kill it.
Another illustration. When for the first time
I met Mr. Clay, the other day in the cars, in front
of us sat an old gentleman with an enormous
wen upon his neck. Everybody would say the
wen was a great evil, and would cause the man's
death after a while; but you couldn't cut it out,
for he'd bleed to death in a minute. But would
you ingraft the seeds of that wen on the necks of
sound and healthy men? He must endure and
be patient, hoping for possible relief. The wen
represents slavery on the neck of this country.
i860] AT HARTFORD 47
This only applies to those who think slavery is
wrong. Those who think it right would con-
sider the snake a jewel and the wen an ornament.
We want those Democrats who think slavery
wrong, to quit voting with those who think it
right. They don't treat it as they do other
wrongs — they won't oppose it in the free States,
for it isn't there; nor in the slave States, for it
is there; — don't want it in politics, for it makes
agitation; not in the pulpit, for it isn't religion;
not in a tract society, for it makes a fuss — there
is no place for its discussion. Are they quite
consistent in this?
If those Democrats really think slavery wrong,
they will be much pleased when earnest men in
the slave States take up a plan of gradual eman-
cipation, and go to work energetically and very
kindly to get rid of the evil. Now let us test
them. Frank Blair tried it; and he ran for
Congress in '58, and got beaten. Did the
Democracy feel bad about it? I reckon not. I
guess you all flung up your hats and shouted,
"Hurrah for the Democracy !"
He went on to speak of the manner in which
slavery was treated by the Constitution. The
word "slave" is nowhere used; the supply of
slaves was to be prohibited after 1808; they
stopped the spread of it in the Territories ; seven
of the States abolished it. He argued very con-
clusively that it was then regarded as an evil
which would eventually be got rid of, and that
they desired, once rid of it, to have nothing in the
Constitution to remind them of it. The Repub-
licans go back to first principles, and deal with it
as a wrong. Mason, of Virginia, said openly that
48 SPEECHES [Mar. 5
the f ramers of our government were anti-slavery.
Hammond, of South Carolina, said, "Washington
set this evil example." Bully Brooks said, "At
the time the Constitution was formed, no one
supposed slavery would last till now." We stick
to the policy of our fathers.
The Democracy are given to bushwhacking.
After having their errors and misstatements con-
tinually thrust in their faces, they pay no heed,
but go on howling about Seward and the
"irrepressible conflict." That is bushwhacking.
So with John Brown and Harper's Ferry.
They charge it upon the Republican party, and
ignominously fail in all attempts to substantiate
the charge. Yet they go on with their bush-
whacking, the pack in full cry after John Brown.
The Democrats had just been whipped in Ohio
and Pennsylvania, and seized upon the unfortu-
nate Harper's Ferry affair to influence other
elections then pending. They said to each other,
"Jump in ; now's your chance" ; and were sorry
there were no more killed. But they didn't suc-
ceed well. Let them go on with their howling.
They will succeed when by slandering women
you get them to love you, and by slandering men
you get them to vote for you.
Mr. Lincoln then took up the Massachusetts
shoemakers' strike, treating it in a humorous and
philosophical manner, and exposing to ridicule
the foolish pretense of Senator Douglas — that
the strike arose from "this unfortunate sec-
tional warfare." Mr. Lincoln thanked God that
we have a system of labor where there can be a
strike. Whatever the pressure, there is a point
where the workman may stop. He didn't pre-
tend to be familiar with the subject of the shoe
i860] AT HARTFORD 49
strike — probably knew as little about it as Sena-
tor Douglas himself. Shall we stop making war
upon the South ? We never have made war upon
them. If any one has, he had better go and hang
himself and save Virginia the trouble. If you
give up your convictions and call slavery right,
as they do, you let slavery in upon you — instead
of white laborers who can strike, you'll soon
have black laborers who can't strike.
I have heard that in consequence of this "sec-
tional warfare," as Douglas calls it, Senator
Mason, of Virginia, had appeared in a suit of
homespun. Now, up in New Hampshire, the
woolen and cotton mills are all busy, and there is
no strike — they are busy making the very goods
Senator Mason has quit buying! To carry out
his idea, he ought to go barefoot! If that's the
plan, they should begin at the foundation, and
adopt the well-known "Georgia costume," of a
shirt-collar and pair of spurs:
It reminded him of the man who had a poor,
old, lean, bony, spavined horse, with swelled
legs. He was asked what he was going to do
with such a miserable beast — the poor creature
would die. "Do?" said he. "I'm going to fat
him up; don't you see that I have got him seal-
fat as high as the knees?" Well they have got
the Union dissolved up to the ankle, but no
further !
All portions of this Confederacy should act in
harmony and with careful deliberation. The
Democrats cry "John Brown invasion." We are
guiltless of it, but our denial does not satisfy
them. Nothing will satisfy them but disinfect-
ing the atmosphere entirely of all opposition to
slavery. They have not demanded of us to yield
5o SPEECHES [Mar. 6
the guards of liberty in our State constitutions,
but it will naturally come to that after a while.
If we give up to them, we cannot refuse even
their utmost request. If slavery is right, it
ought to be extended; if not, it ought to be re-
stricted— there is no middle ground. Wrong as
we think it, we can afford to let it alone where
it of necessity now exists ; but we cannot afford
to extend it into free territory and around our
own homes. Let us stand against it!
The "Union" arrangements are all a humbug
— they reverse the scriptural order, calling the
righteous, and not sinners, to repentance. Let
us not be slandered or intimidated to turn from
our duty. Eternal right makes might; as we
understand our duty, let us do it!
Slavery the Snake in the Union Bed.
Speech at New Haven, Conn. March 6,
i860.
Mr. President and Fellow-citizens of New
Haven: If the Republican party of this nation
shall ever have the national house intrusted to its
keeping, it will be the duty of that party to attend
to all the affairs of national housekeeping.
Whatever matters of importance may come up,
whatever difficulties may arise, in the way of its
administration of the government, that party will
then have to attend to : it will then be compelled
to attend to other questions besides this question
which now assumes an overwhelming importance
— the question of slavery. It is true that in the
organization of the Republican party this ques-
tion of slavery was more important than any
i860] AT NEW HAVEN 51
other ; indeed, so much more important has it
become that no other national question can even
get a hearing just at present. The old question
of tariff — a matter that will remain one of the
chief affairs of national housekeeping to all time ;
the question of management of financial affairs ;
the question of the disposition of the public
domain; how shall it be managed for the pur-
pose of getting it well settled, and of making
there the homes of a free and happy people —
these will remain open and require attention for
a great while yet, and these questions will have
to be attended to by whatever party has the con-
trol of the government. Yet just now they can-
not even obtain a hearing, and I do not purpose
to detain you upon these topics, or what sort of
hearing they should have when opportunity shall
come. For whether we will or not, the question
of slavery is the question, the all-absorbing topic,
of the day. It is true that all of us — and by that
I mean not the Republican party alone, but the
whole American people here and elsewhere — all
of us wish this question settled; wish it out of
the way. It stands in the way and prevents the
adjustment and the giving of necessary attention
to other questions of national housekeeping.
The people of the whole nation agree that this
question ought to be settled, and yet it is not
settled; and the reason is that they are not yet
agreed how it shall be settled. All wish it done,
but some wish one way and some another, and
some a third, or fourth, or fifth ; different bodies
are pulling in different directions, and none of
them having a decided majority are able to ac-
complish the common object.
In the beginning of the year 1854, a new policy
52 SPEECHES [Mar. 6
was inaugurated with the avowed object and
confident promise that it would entirely and for-
ever put an end to the slavery agitation. It was
again and again declared that under this policy,
when once successfully established, the country
would be forever rid of this whole question. Yet
under the operation of that policy this agitation
has not only not ceased, but it has been constantly
augmented. And this, too, although from the
day of its introduction its friends, who prom-
ised that it would wholly end all agitation, con-
stantly insisted, down to the time that the
Lecompton bill was introduced, that it was work-
ing admirably, and that its inevitable tendency
was to remove the question forever from the
politics of the country. Can you call to mind
any Democratic speech, made after the repeal
of the Missouri Compromise down to the time
of the Lecompton bill, in which it v/as not pre-
dicted that the slavery agitation was just at an
end ; that "the Abolition excitement was played
out," "the Kansas question was dead," "they
have made the most they can out of this ques-
tion and it is now forever settled" ? But since the
Lecompton bill, no Democrat within my experi-
ence has ever pretended that he could see the end.
That cry has been dropped. They themselves
do not pretend now that the agitation of this sub-
ject has come to an end yet. The truth is that
this question is one of national importance, and
we cannot help dealing with it ; we must do some-
thing about it, whether we will or not. We
cannot avoid it; the subject is one we cannot
avoid considering; we can no more avoid it than
a man can live without eating. It is upon us ; it
attaches to the body politic as much and as
i860] at new haven
53
closely as the natural wants attach to our natural
bodies. Now I think it important that this mat-
ter should be taken up in earnest and really
settled. And one way to bring about a true
settlement of the question is to understand its
true magnitude.
There have been many efforts to settle it.
Again and again it has been fondly hoped that it
was settled, but every time it breaks out afresh,
and more violently than ever. It was settled, our
fathers hoped, by the Missouri Compromise, but
it did not stay settled. Then the compromises
of 1850 were declared to be a full and final settle-
ment of the question. The two great parties,
each in national convention, adopted resolutions
declaring that the settlement made by the com-
promise of 1850 was a finality — that it would
last forever. Yet how long before it was un-
settled again? It broke out again in 1854, and
blazed higher and raged more furiously than ever
before, and the agitation has not rested since.
These repeated settlements must have some
fault about them. There must be some in-
adequacy in their very nature to the purpose for
which they were designed. We can only specu-
late as to where that fault — that inadequacy is,
but we may perhaps profit by past experience.
I think that one of the causes of these repeated
failures is that our best and greatest men have
greatly underestimated the size of this question.
They have constantly brought forward small
cures for great sores — plasters too small to cover
the wound. That is one reason that all settle-
ments have proved so temporary, so evanescent.
Look at the magnitude of this subject. One
sixth of our population, in round numbers — not
54 SPEECHES [Mar. 6
quite one sixth, and yet more than a seventh —
about one sixth of the whole population of the
United States are slaves. The owners of these
slaves consider them property. The effect upon
the minds of the owners is that of property, and
nothing else; it induces them to insist upon all
that will favorably affect its value as property,
to demand laws and institutions and a public
policy that shall increase and secure its value,
and make it durable, lasting, and universal. The
effect on the minds of the owners is to persuade
them that there is no wrong in it. The slave-
holder does not like to be considered a mean
fellow for holding that species of property, and
hence he has to struggle within himself, and sets
about arguing himself into the belief that slavery
is right. The property influences his mind. The
dissenting minister who argued some theological
point with one of the Established Church was
always met by the reply, "I can't see it so." He
opened the Bible and pointed him to a passage,
but the orthodox minister replied, "I can't see it
so." Then he showed him a single word — "Can
you see that?" "Yes, I see it," was the reply.
The dissenter laid a guinea over the word, and
asked, "Do you see it now ?" So here. Whether
the owners of this species of property do really
see it as it is, it is not for me to say ; but if they
do, they see it as it is through two billions of
dollars, and that is a pretty thick coating. Cer-
tain it is that they do not see it as we see it.
Certain it is that this two thousand million of dol-
lars invested in this species of property is all so
concentrated that the mind can grasp it at once.
This immense pecuniary interest has its influence
upon their minds.
i860] AT NEW HAVEN
55
But here in Connecticut and at the North
slavery does not exist, and we see it through no
such medium. To us it appears natural to think
that slaves are human beings ; men, not property ;
that some of the things, at least, stated about men
in the Declaration of Independence apply to them
as well as to us. I say we think, most of us,
that this charter of freedom applies to the slave
as well as to ourselves ; that the class of argu-
ments put forward to batter down that idea are
also calculated to break down the very idea of
free government, even for white men, and to
undermine the very foundations of free society.
We think slavery a great moral wrong, and while
we do not claim the right to touch it where it
exists, we wish to treat it as a wrong in the Ter-
ritories, where our votes will reach it. We think
that a respect for ourselves, a regard for future
generations and for the God that made us, re-
quire that we put down this wrong where our
votes will properly reach it. We think that
species of labor an injury to free white men —
in short, we think slavery a great moral, social,
and political evil, tolerable only because, and so
far as, its actual existence makes it necessary to
tolerate it, and that beyond that it ought to be
treated as a wrong.
Now these two ideas — the property idea that
slavery is right and the idea that it is wrong —
come into collision, and do actually produce that
irrepressible conflict which Mr. Seward has been
so roundly abused for mentioning. The two
ideas conflict, and must forever conflict.
Again, in its political aspect does anything in
any way endanger the perpetuity of this Union
but that single thing — slavery? Many of our
56 SPEECHES [Mar. 6
adversaries are anxious to claim that they are
specially devoted to the Union, and take pains
to charge upon us hostility to the Union. Now
we claim that we are the only true Union men,
and we put to them this one proposition: What
ever endangered this Union save and except
slavery? Did any other thing ever cause a mo-
ment's fear? All men must agree that this thing
alone has ever endangered the perpetuity of the
Union. But if it was threatened by any other
influence, would not all men say that the best
thing that could be done, if we could not or ought
not to destroy it, would be at least to keep it
from growing any larger ? Can any man believe
that the way to save the Union is to extend and
increase the only thing that threatens the Union,
and to suffer it to grow bigger and bigger?
Whenever this question shall be settled, it must
be settled on some philosophical basis. No policy
that does not rest upon philosophical public
opinion can be permanently maintained. And
hence there are but two policies in regard to
slavery that can be at all maintained. The first,
based on the property view that slavery is right,
conforms to that idea throughout, and demands
that we shall do everything for it that we ought
to do if it were right. We must sweep away all
opposition, for opposition to the right is wrong;
we must agree that slavery is right, and we must
adopt the idea that property has persuaded the
owner to believe, that slavery is morally right
and socially elevating. This gives a philosophical
basis for a permanent policy of encouragement.
The other policy is one that squares with the
idea that slavery is wrong, and it consists in
doing everything that we ought to do if it is
i860] AT NEW HAVEN 57
wrong. Now I don't wish to be misunderstood,
nor to leave a gap down to be misrepresented,
even. I don't mean that we ought to attack it
where it exists. To me it seems that if we were
to form a government anew, in view of the
actual presence of slavery we should find it
necessary to frame just such a government as our
fathers did: giving to the slaveholder the entire
control where the system was established, while
we possess the power to restrain it from going
outside those limits. From the necessities of the
case we should be compelled to form just such a
government as our blessed fathers gave us ; and
surely if they have so made it, that adds another
reason why we should let slavery alone where it
exists.
If I saw a venomous snake crawling in the
road, any man would say I might seize the near-
est stick and kill it ; but if I found that snake in
bed with my children, that would be another
question. I might hurt the children more than the
snake, and it might bite them. Much more, if I
found it in bed with my neighbor's children, and
I had bound myself by a solemn compact not to
meddle with his children under any circum-
stances, it would become me to let that particular
mode of getting rid of the gentleman alone. But
if there was a bed newly made up, to which the
children were to be taken, and it was proposed to
take a batch of young snakes and put them there
with them, I take it no man would say there was
any question how I ought to decide !
That is just the case. The new Territories are
the newly made bed to which our children are to
go, and it lies with the nation to say whether
they shall have snakes mixed up with them or
5 8 SPEECHES .[Mar. 6
not. It does not seem as if there could be much
hesitation what our policy should be.
Now I have spoken of a policy based on the
idea that slavery is wrong, and a policy based
upon the idea that it is right. But an effort has
been made for a policy that shall treat it as
neither right nor wrong. It is based upon utter
indifference. Its leading advocate has said: "I
don't care whether it be voted up or down." "It
is merely a matter of dollars and cents." "The
Almighty has drawn a line across this continent,
on one side of which all soil must forever be
cultivated by slave labor, and on the other by
free." "When the struggle is between the white
man and the negro, I am for the white man;
when it is between the negro and the crocodile, I
am for the negro." Its central idea is indiffer-
ence. It holds that it makes no more difference
to us whether the Territories become free or
slave States, than whether my neighbor stocks
his farm with horned cattle or puts it into to-
bacco. All recognize this policy, the plausible
sugar-coated name of which is "popular sover-
eignty."
This policy chiefly stands in the way of a
permanent settlement of the question. I believe
there is no danger of its becoming the permanent
policy of the country, for it is based on a public
indifference. There is nobody that "don't care."
All the people do care, one way or the other.
I do not charge that its author, when he says he
"don't care," states his individual opinion; he
only expresses his policy for the government.
I understand that he has never said, as an in-
dividual, whether he thought slavery right or
wrong — and he is the only man in the nation
:S6o] AT NEW HAVEN
59
that has not. Now such a policy may have a
temporary run; it may spring up as necessary
to the political prospects of some gentleman —
but it is utterly baseless ; the people are not in-
different, and it can therefore have no durability
or permanence.
But suppose it could! Then it can be main-
tained only by a public opinion that shall say,
"We don't care." There must be a change in
public opinion; the public mind must be so far
debauched as to square with this policy of caring
not at all. The people must come to consider
this as "merely a question of dollars and cents,"
and to believe that in some places the Almighty
has made slavery necessarily eternal. This
policy can be brought to prevail if the people
can be brought round to say honestly, "We don't
care"; if not, it can never be maintained. It is
for you to say whether that can be done.
You are ready to say it cannot ; but be not too
fast. Remember what a long stride has been
taken since the repeal of the Missouri Com-
promise! Do you know of any Democrat, of
either branch of the party — do you know one who
declares that he believes that the Declaration of
Independence has any application to the negro?
Judge Taney declares that it has not, and Judge
Douglas even vilifies me personally and scolds me
roundly for saying that the Declaration applies
to all men, and that negroes are men. Is there
a Democrat here who does not deny that the
Declaration applies to a negro? Do any of you
know of one ? Well, I have tried before perhaps
fifty audiences, some larger and some smaller
than this, to find one such Democrat, and never
yet have I found one who said I did not place
60 SPEECHES [Mar. 6
him right in that. I must assume that Democrats
hold that; and now not one of these Democrats
can show that he said that five years ago! I
venture to defy the whole party to produce one
man that ever uttered the belief that the Declara-
tion did not apply to negroes before the repeal of
the Missouri Compromise ! Four or five years
ago we all thought negroes were men, and that
when ''all men" were named, negroes were in-
cluded. But the whole Democratic party has
deliberately taken negroes from the class of men
and put them in the class of brutes. Turn it as
you will, it is simply the truth! Don't be too
hasty then in saying that the people cannot be
brought to this new doctrine, but note that long
stride. One more as long completes the journey
from where negroes are estimated as men to
where they are estimated as mere brutes — as
rightful property!
That saying, "In the struggle between the
white man and the negro," etc., which, I know,
came from the same source as this policy — that
saying marks another step. There is a false-
hood wrapped up in that statement. "In the
struggle between the white man and the negro,"
assumes that there is a struggle, in which either
the white man must enslave the negro or the
negro must enslave the white. There is no such
struggle. It is merely an ingenious falsehood
to degrade and brutalize the negro. Let each
let the other alone, and there is no struggle about
it. If it was like two wrecked seamen on a nar-
row plank, where each must push the other off or
drown himself, I would push the negro off — or a
white man either; but it is not : the plank is large
enough for both. This good earth is plenty
i860] AT NEW HAVEN 6r
broad enough for white man and negro both, and
there is no need of either pushing the other off.
So that saying, "In the struggle between the
negro and the crocodile," etc., is made up from
the idea that down where the crocodile inhabits,
a white man can't labor ; it must be nothing else
but crocodile or negro; if the negro does not, the
crocodile must possess the earth; in that case he
declares for the negro. The meaning of the
whole is just this : As a white man is to a negro,
so is a negro to a crocodile; and as the negro
may rightfully treat the crocodile, so may the
white man rightfully treat the negro. This very
dear phrase coined by its author, and so dear that
he deliberately repeats it in many speeches, has a
tendency to still further brutalize the negro, and
to bring public opinion to the point of utter in-
difference whether men so brutalized are enslaved
or not. When that time shall come, if ever, I
think that policy to which I refer may prevail.
But I hope the good free men of this country
will never allow it to come, and until then the
policy can never be maintained.
Now, consider the effect of this policy. We in
the States are not to care whether freedom or
slavery gets the better, but the people in the Ter-
ritories may care. They are to decide, and they
may think what they please ; it is a matter of dol-
lars and cents! But are not the people of the
Territories detailed from the States? If this
feeling of indifference — this absence of moral
sense about the question — prevails in the States,
will it not be carried into the Territories? Will
not every man say, "I don't care ; it is nothing to
me"? If any one comes that wants slavery,
must they not say, "I don't care whether free-
62 SPEECHES [Mar. 6
dom or slavery be voted up or voted down" ? It
results at last in nationalizing the institution of
slavery. Even if fairly carried out, that policy
is just as certain to nationalize slavery as the
doctrine of Jeff Davis himself. These are only
two roads to the same goal, and "popular
sovereignty" is just as sure, and almost as short,
as the other.
What we want, and all we want, is to have
with us the men who think slavery wrong. But
those who say they hate slavery, and are opposed
to it, but yet act with the Democratic party —
where are they ? Let us apply a few tests. You
say that you think slavery a wrong, but you
renounce all attempts to restrain it. Is there
anything else that you think wrong, that you are
not willing to deal with as a wrong? Why are
you so careful, so tender of this one wrong and
no other? You will not let us do a single thing
as if it was wrong; there is no place where you
will allow it to be even called wrong. We must
not call it wrong in the free States, because it is
not there, and we must not call it wrong in the
slave States, because it is there ; we must not call
it wrong in politics, because that is bringing
morality into politics, and we must not call it
wrong in the pulpit, because that is bringing
politics into religion; we must not bring it into
the tract society, or other societies, because those
are such unsuitable places, and there is no single
place, according to you, where this wrong can
properly be called wrong.
Perhaps you will plead that if the people of the
slave States should of themselves set on foot an
effort for emancipation, you would wish them
success and bid them God-speed. Let us test
i860] AT NEW HAVEN 63
that! In 1858 the emancipation party of Mis-
souri, with Frank Blair at their head, tried to
get up a movement for that purpose ; and, having
started a party, contested the State. Blair was
beaten, apparently if not truly, and when the
news came to Connecticut, you, who knew that
Frank Blair was taking hold of this thing by the
right end, and doing the only thing that you say
can properly be done to remove this wrong — did
you bow your heads in sorrow because of that
defeat? Do you, any of you, know one single
Democrat that showed sorrow over that result?
Not one! On the contrary, every man threw
up his hat, and hallooed at the top of his lungs,
"Hooray for Democracy !"
Now, gentlemen, the Republicans desire to
place this great question of slavery on the very
basis on which our fathers placed it, and no
other. It is easy to demonstrate that "our
fathers who framed this government under which
we live" looked on slavery as wrong, and so
framed it and everything about it as to square
with the idea that it was wrong, so far as the
necessities arising from its existence permitted.
In forming the Constitution they found the slave-
trade existing, capital invested in it, fields de-
pending upon it for labor, and the whole system
resting upon the importation of slave labor.
They therefore did not prohibit the slave-trade
at once, but they gave the power to prohibit it
after twenty years. Why was this ? What other
foreign trade did they treat in that way ? Would
they have done this if they had not thought
slavery wrong?
Another thing was done by some of the same
men who framed the Constitution, and after-
64 SPEECHES [Mar. 6
ward adopted as their own act by the first Con-
gress held under that Constitution, of which
many of the framers were members — they pro-
hibited the spread of slavery in the Territories.
Thus the same men, the framers of the Consti-
tution, cut off the supply and prohibited the
spread of slavery; and both acts show conclu-
sively that they considered that the thing was
wrong.
If additional proof is wanting, it can be found
in the phraseology of the Constitution. When
men are framing a supreme law and chart of
government to secure blessings and prosperity
to untold generations yet to come, they use lan-
guage as short and direct and plain as can be
found to express their meaning. In all matters
but this of slavery the framers of the Constitu-
tion used the very clearest, shortest, and most
direct language. But the Constitution alludes tc?
slavery three times without mentioning it once!
The language used becomes ambiguous, round-
about, and mystical. They speak of the "im-
migration of persons," and mean the importation
of slaves, but do not say so. In establishing a
basis of representation they say "all other per-
sons," when they mean to say slaves. Why did
they not use the shortest phrase? In providing
for the return of fugitives they say "persons
held to service or labor." If they had said
"slaves," it would have been plainer and less
liable to misconstruction. Why didn't they do it ?
We cannot doubt that it was done on purpose.
Only one reason is possible, and that is supplied
us by one of the framers of the Constitution —
and it is not possible for man to conceive of any
other. They expected and desired that the sys-
i860] AT NEW HAVEN 65
tern would come to an end, and meant that when
it did the Constitution should not show that there
ever had been a slave in this good free country of
ours.
I will dwell on that no longer. I see the signs
of the approaching triumph of the Republicans
in the bearing of their political adversaries. A
great deal of this war with us nowadays is mere
bushwhacking. At the battle of Waterloo, when
Napoleon's cavalry had charged again and again
upon the unbroken squares of British infantry,
at last they were giving up the attempt, and
going off in disorder, when some of the officers,
in mere vexation and complete despair, fired their
pistols at those solid squares. The Democrats
are in that sort of extreme desperation; it is
nothing else. I will take up a few of these argu-
ments.
There is "the irrepressible conflict." How
they rail at Seward for that saying! They re-
peat it constantly; and although the proof has
been thrust under their noses again and again
that almost every good man since the formation
of our government has uttered that same senti-
ment, from General Washington, who "trusted
that we should yet have a confederacy of free
states," with Jefferson, Jay, Monroe, down to the
latest days, yet they refuse to notice that at all,
and persist in railing at Seward for saying it.
Even Roger A. Pry or, editor of the Richmond
Enquirer, uttered the same sentiment in almost
the same language, and yet so little offense did it
give the Democrats that he was sent for to Wash-
ington to edit the States — the Douglas organ
there, while Douglas goes into hydrophobia and
spasms of rage because Seward dared to repeat
66 SPEECHES [Mar. 6
it. That is what I call bushwhacking — a sort of
argument that they must know any child can see
through.
Another is John Brown! You stir up insur-
rections; you invade the South! John Brown!
Harper's Ferry ! Why, John Brown was not a
Republican ! You have never implicated a single
Republican in that Harper's Ferry enterprise.
We tell you if any member of the Republican
party is guilty in that matter, you know it or you
do not know it. If you do know it, you are in-
excusable not to designate the man and prove the
fact. If you do not know it, you are inexcusable
to assert it, and especially to persist in the as-
sertion after you have tried and failed to make
the proof. You need not be told that persisting
in a charge which one does not know to be true
is simply malicious slander. Some of you admit
that no Republican designedly aided or encour-
aged the Harper's Ferry affair; but still insist
that our doctrines and declarations necessarily
lead to such results. We do not believe it. We
know we hold to no doctrines and make no
declarations which were not held to and made by
our fathers who framed the government under
which we live, and we cannot see how declara-
tions that were patriotic when they made them
are villainous when we make them. You never
dealt fairly by us in relation to that affair — and
I will say frankly that I know of nothing in your
character that should lead us to suppose that you
would. You had just been soundly thrashed in
elections in several States, and others were soon
to come. You rejoiced at the occasion, and only
were troubled that there were not three times as
many killed in the affair. You were in evident
i860] AT NEW HAVEN 67
glee ; there was no sorrow for the killed nor for
the peace of Virginia disturbed; you were re-
joicing that by charging Republicans with this
thing you might get an advantage of us in New
York and the other States. You pulled that
string as tightly as you could, but your very
generous and worthy expectations were not quite
fulfilled. Each Republican knew that the charge
was a slander as to himself at least, and was not
inclined by it to cast his vote in your favor. It
was mere bushwhacking, because you had noth-
ing else to do. You are still on that track, and I
say, Go, on ! If you think you can slander a
woman into loving you, or a man into voting for
you, try it till you are satisfied.
Another specimen of this bushwhacking — that
"shoe strike." Now be it understood that I do
not pretend to know all about the matter. I am
merely going to speculate a little about some of
its phases, and at the outset I am glad to see that
a system of labor prevails in New England under
which laborers can strike when they want to,
where they are not obliged to work under all cir-
cumstances, and are not tied down and obliged
to labor whether you pay them or not ! . I like the
system which lets a man quit when he wants to,
and wish it might prevail everywhere. One of
the reasons why I am opposed to slavery is just
here. What is the true condition of the laborer?
I take it that it is best for all to leave each man
free to acquire property as fast as he can. Some
will get wealthy. I don't believe in a law to pre-
vent a man from getting rich ; it would do more
harm than good. So while we do not propose
any war upon capital, we do wish to allow the
humblest man an equal chance to get rich with
68 SPEECHES [Mar. 6
everybody else. When one starts poor, as most
do in the race of life, free society is such that he
knows he can better his condition ; he knows
that there is no fixed condition of labor for his
whole life. I am not ashamed to confess that
twenty-five years ago I was a hired laborer, maul-
ing rails, at work on a flatboat — just what might
happen to any poor man's son. I want every
man to have the chance — and I believe a black
man is entitled to it — in which he can better his
condition — when he may look forward and hope
to be a hired laborer this year and the next, work
for himself afterward, and finally to hire men
to work for him. That is the true system. Up
here in New England you have a soil that
scarcely sprouts black-eyed beans, and yet where
will you find wealthy men so wealthy, and poverty
so rarely in extremity? There is n^t another
such place on earth ! I desire that if you get too
thick here, and find it hard to better your condi-
tion on this soil, you may have a chance to strike
out and go somewhere else, where you may not
be degraded, nor have your family corrupted
by forced rivalry with negro slaves. I want you
to have a clean bed and no snakes in it! Then
you can better your condition, and so it may go
on and on in one ceaseless round so long as man
exists on the face of the earth.
Now to come back to this shoe strike. If, as
the senator from Illinois asserts, this is caused
by withdrawal of Southern votes, consider briefly
how you will meet the difficulty. You have done
nothing, and have protested that you have done
nothing to injure the South; and yet to get back
the shoe trade, you must leave off doing some-
thing that you are now doing. What is it ? You
i860] AT NEW HAVEN 69
must stop thinking slavery wrong. Let your in-
stitutions be wholly changed ; let your State
constitutions be subverted; glorify slavery; and
so you will get back the shoe trade — for what?
You have brought owned labor with it to compete
with your own labor, to underwork you, and de-
grade you. Are you ready to get back the trade
on these terms ?
But the statement is not correct. You have
not lost that trade ; orders were never better than
now. Senator Mason, a Democrat, comes into
the Senate in homespun, a proof that the dissolu-
tion of the Union has actually begun. But orders
are the same. Your factories have not struck
work, neither those where they make anything
for coats, nor for pants, nor for shirts, nor for
ladies' dresses. Mr. Mason has not reached the
manufacturers who ought to have made him a
coat and pants. To make his proof good for
anything, he should have come into the Senate
barefoot.
Another bushwhacking contrivance — simply
that, nothing else ! I find a good many people
who are very much concerned about the loss of
Southern trade. Now, either these people are
sincere, or they are not. I will speculate a little
about that. If they are sincere, and are moved
by any real danger of the loss of the Southern
trade, they will simply get their names on the
white list, and then instead of persuading Repub-
licans to do likewise, they will be glad to keep
you away. Don't you see they thus shut off
competition? They would not be whispering
around to Republicans to come in and share the
profits with them. But if they are not sincere,
and are merely trying to fool Republicans out
7°
SPEECHES [Mar. 6
of their votes, they will grow very anxious about
your pecuniary prospects ; they are afraid you are
going to get broken up and ruined ; they did not
care about Democratic votes — oh, no, no, no!
You must judge which class those belong to
whom you meet. I leave it to you to determine
from the facts.
Let us notice some more of the stale charges
against Republicans. You say we are sectional.
We deny it. That makes an issue; and the
burden of proof is upon you. You produce your
proof ; and what is it ? Why, that our party has
no existence in your section — gets no votes in
your section. The fact is substantially true ; but
does it prove the issue? If it does, then in case
we should, without change of principle, begin to
get votes in your section, we should thereby cease
to be sectional. You cannot escape this con-
clusion ; and yet, are you willing to abide by it ?
If you are, you will probably soon find that we
have ceased to be sectional, for we shall get votes
in your section this very year. The fact that we
get no votes in your section is a fact of your
making, and not of ours. And if there be fault
in that fact, that fault is primarily yours, and
remains so until you show that we repel you by
some wrong principle or practice. If we do
repel you by any wrong principle or practice, the
fault is ours; but this brings you to where you
ought to have started — to a discussion of the right
or wrong of our principle. If our principle, put
in practice, would wrong your section for the
benefit of ours, or for any other object, then our
principle and we with it, are sectional, and are
justly opposed and denounced as such. Meet us,
then, on the question of whether our principle,
i860] AT NEW HAVEN 7i
put in practice, would wrong your section ; and
so meet it as if it were possible that something
may be said on our side. Do you accept the chal-
lenge? No? Then you really believe that the
principle which our fathers who framed the gov-
ernment under which we live thought so clearly
right as to adopt it, and indorse it again and
again, upon their official oaths, is, in fact, so
clearly wrong as to demand your condemnation
without a moment's consideration.
Some of you delight to flaunt in our faces the
warning against sectional parties given by Wash-
ington in his Farewell Address. Less than eight
years before Washington gave that warning, he
had, as President of the United States, approved
and signed an act of Congress enforcing the pro-
hibition of slavery in the Northwestern Terri-
tory, which act embodied the policy of govern-
ment upon that subject up to and at the very
moment he penned that warning; and about one
year after he penned it, he wrote Lafayette that
he considered that prohibition a wise measure,
expressing in the same connection his hope that
we should some time have a confederacy of free
States.
Bearing this in mind, and seeing that sectional-
ism has since arisen upon this same subject, is
that warning a weapon in your hands against us,
or in our hands against you ? Could Washington
himself speak, would he cast the blame of that
sectionalism upon us who sustain his policy, or
upon you who repudiate it? We respect that
warning of Washington, and we commend it to
you, together with his example pointing to the
right application of it.
But you say you are conservative — eminently
72 SPEECHES [Mar. 6
conservative — while we are revolutionary, de-
structive, or something of that sort. What is
conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old
and tried against the new and untried ? We stick
to, contend for, the identical old policy on the
point in controversy which was adopted by our
fathers who framed the government under which
we live; while you with one accord reject, and
scout, and spit upon that old policy, and insist
upon substituting something new. True, you
disagree among yourselves as to what that sub-
stitute shall be ; you have considerable variety
of new propositions and plans, but you are unani-
mous in rejecting and denouncing the old policy
of the fathers. Some of you are for reviving
the foreign slave-trade ; some for a congressional
slave code for the Territories ; some for Congress
forbidding the Territories to prohibit slavery
within their limits ; some for maintaining slavery
in the Territories through the judiciary; some
for the "great principle" that if one man would
enslave another, no third man should object, fan-
tastically called "popular sovereignty" ; but never
a man among you in favor of Federal prohibition
of slavery in Federal Territories according to
the practice of our fathers who framed the gov-
ernment under which we live. Not one of all
your various plans can show a precedent or an
advocate in the century within which our govern-
ment originated. And yet you draw yourselves
up and say, "We are eminently conservative."
It is exceedingly desirable that all parts of this
great Confederacy shall be at peace and in har-
mony one with another. Let us Republicans do
our part to have it so. Even though much pro-
voked, let us do nothing through passion and ill
i860] AT NEW HAVEN 73
temper. Even though the Southern people will
not so much as listen to us, let us calmly con-
sider their demands, and yield to them if, in our
deliberate view of our duty, we possibly can.
Judging by all they say and do, and by the sub-
ject and nature of their controversy with us, let
us determine, if we can, what will satisfy them.
Will they be satisfied if the Territories be un-
conditionally surrendered to them? We know
they will not. In all their present complaints
against us the Territories are scarcely mentioned.
Invasions and insurrections are the rage now.
Will it satisfy them if in the future we have
nothing to do with invasions and insurrections?
We know it will not. Wre so know because we
know we never have had anything to do with
invasions and insurrections ; and yet this total
abstaining does not exempt us from the charge
and the denunciation.
The question recurs, What will satisfy them?
Simply this : we must not only let them alone,
but we must somehow convince them that we
do let them alone. This we know by experi-
ence is no easy task. We have been so trying to
convince them from the very beginning of our
organization, but with no success. In all our
platforms and speeches we have constantly pro-
tested our purpose to let them alone ; but this has
had no tendency to convince them. Alike un-
availing to convince them is the fact that they
have never detected a man of us in any attempt
to disturb them.
These natural and apparently adequate means
all failing, what will convince them? This, and
this only: cease to call slavery wrong, and join
them in calling it right. And this must be done
74 SPEECHES [Mar. 6
thoroughly — done in acts as well as in words.
Silence will not be tolerated — we must place our-
selves avowedly with them. Douglas's new sedi-
tion law must be enacted and enforced, suppress-
ing all declarations that slavery is wrong,
whether made in politics, in presses, in pulpits, or
in private. We must arrest and return their
fugitive slaves with greedy pleasure. We must
pull down our free-State constitutions. The
whole atmosphere must be disinfected of all taint
of opposition to slavery before they will cease
to believe that all their troubles proceed from us.
So long as we call slavery wrong, whenever a
slave runs away they will overlook the obvious
fact that he ran because he was oppressed, and
declare that he was stolen off. Whenever a
master cuts his slaves with the lash, and they cry
out under it, he will overlook the obvious fact
that the negroes cry out because they are hurt,
and insist that they were put up to it by some
rascally Abolitionist.
I am quite aware that they do not state their
case precisely in this way. Most of them would
probably say to us : "Let us alone ; do nothing to
us, and say what you please about slavery.''
But we do let them alone, — have never disturbed
them, — so that, after all, it is what we say which
dissatisfies them. They will continue to accuse
us of doing, until we cease saying.
I am also aware they have not as yet in terms
demanded the overthrow of our free-State con-
stitutions. Yet those constitutions declare the
wrong of slavery with more solemn emphasis
than do all other sayings against it ; and when all
these other sayings shall have been silenced, the
overthrow of these constitutions will be de-
i860] AT NEW HAVEN 75
manded, and nothing be left to resist the demand.
It is nothing to the contrary that they do not
demand the whole of this just now. Demanding
what they do, and for the reason they do, they
can voluntarily stop nowhere short of this con-
summation. Holding, as they do, that slavery is
morally right and socially elevating, they cannot
cease to demand full national recognition of it
as a legal right and a social blessing.
Nor can we justifiably withhold this on any
ground save our conviction that slavery is wrong.
If slavery is right, all words, acts, laws, and con-
stitutions against it are themselves wrong, and
should be silenced and swept away. If it is
right, we cannot justly object to its nationality —
its universality; if it is wrong, they cannot justly
insist upon its extension — its enlargement. All
they ask we could readily grant, if we thought
slavery right; all we ask they could as readily
grant, if they thought it wrong. Their thinking
it right and our thinking it wrong is the precise
fact upon which depends the whole controversy.
Thinking it right, as they do, they are not to
blame for desiring its full recognition as being
right; but thinking it wrong, as we do, can we
yield to them ? Can we cast our votes with their
view, and against our own? In view of our
moral, social, and political responsibilities, can
we do this?
Wrong as we think slavery is, we can yet
afford to let it alone where it is, because that
much is due to the necessity arising from its
actual presence in the nation; but can we, while
our votes will prevent it, allow it to spread into
the national Territories, and to overrun us here
in these free States? If our sense of duty for-
76 SPEECHES [Mar. 9
bids this, then let us stand by our duty fearlessly
and effectively. Let us be diverted by none of
those sophistical contrivances wherewith we are
so industriously plied and belabored — contriv-
ances such as groping for some middle ground
between the right and the wrong: vain as the
search for a man who should be neither a living
man nor a dead man; such as a policy of "don't
care" on a question about which all true men do
care; such as Union appeals beseeching true
Union men to yield to Disunionists, reversing the
divine rule, and calling, not the sinners, but the
righteous to repentance; such as invocations to
Washington, imploring men to unsay what
Washington said and undo what Washington
did.
Neither let us be slandered from our duty by
false accusations against us, nor frightened from
it by menaces of destruction to the government,
nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith
that right makes might, and in that faith let us
to the end dare to do our duty as we understand
it.
"Popular Sovereignty" the Sugar-Coated
Slavery Pill.
Abstract of Speech at Norwich, Conn.
March 9, i860.
Whether we will or not, the question of slavery
is the question, the all-absorbing topic, of the
day. It is true that all of us — and by that I
mean, not the Republican party alone, but the
whole American people, here and elsewhere — all
of us wish the question settled — wish it out of
the way.
i860] AT NORWICH 77
It stands in the way and prevents the adjust-
ment and the giving of necessary attention to
other questions of national housekeeping. The
people of the whole nation agree that this ques-
tion ought to be settled, and yet it is not settled.
And the reason is that they are not yet agreed
how it shall be settled.
Again and again it has been fondly hoped that
it was settled, but every time it breaks out afresh
and more violently than ever. It was settled,
our fathers hoped, by the Missouri Compromise,
but it did not stay settled. Then the compromise
of 1850 was declared to be a full and final settle-
ment of the question. The two great parties,
each in national convention, adopted resolutions
declaring that the settlement made by the com-
promises of 1850 was a finality — that it would
last forever. Yet how long before it was un-
settled again? It broke out again in 1854, and
blazed higher and raged more furiously than
ever before, and the agitation has not rested
since.
These repeated settlements must have some
fault about them. There must be some inade-
quacy in their very nature to the purpose for
which they were designed. We can only specu-
late as to where that fault — that inadequacy is,
but we may perhaps profit by past experience.
I think that one of the causes of these re-
peated failures is that our best and greatest men
have greatly underestimated the size of this
question. They have constantly brought for-
ward small cures for great sores — plasters too
small to cover the wound. This is one reason
that all settlements have proved so temporary, so
evanescent.
78 SPEECHES [Mar. 9
Look at the magnitude of this subject. About
one sixth of the whole population of the United
States are slaves. The owners of the slaves
consider them property. The effect upon the
minds of the owners is that of property, and
nothing else — it induces them to insist upon all
that will favorably affect its value as property, to
demand laws and institutions and a public policy
that shall increase and secure its value, and make
it durable, lasting, and universal. The effect on
the minds of the owners is to persuade them that
there is no wrong in it.
But here in Connecticut and at the North
slavery does not exist, and we see it through no
such medium. To us it appears natural to think
that slaves are human beings ; men, not property ;
that some of the things, at least, stated about
men in the Declaration of Independence apply to
them as well as to us. We think slavery a great
moral wrong; and while we do not claim the
right to touch it where it exists, we wish to treat
it as a wrong in the Territories where our votes
will reach it. Now these two ideas, the property
idea that slavery is right, and the idea that it is
wrong, come into collision, and do actually pro-
duce that irrepressible conflict which Mr. Seward
has been so roundly abused for mentioning. The
two ideas conflict, and must conflict.
There are but two policies in regard to slavery
that can be at all maintained. The first, based
upon the property view that slavery is right, con-
forms to the idea throughout, and demands that
we shall do everything for it that we ought to do
if it were right. The other policy is one that
squares with the idea that slavery is wrong, and
it consists in doing everything that we ought to
i860] AT NORWICH 79
do if it is wrong. I don't mean that we ought to
attack it where it exists. To me it seems that
if we were to form a government anew, in view
of the actual presence of slavery we should find
it necessary to frame just such a government as
our fathers did — giving to the slaveholder the
entire control where the system was established,
while we possessed the power to restrain it from
going outside those limits.
Now I have spoken of a policy based upon the
idea that slavery is wrong, and a policy based
upon the idea that it is right. But an effort has
been made for a policy that shall treat it as
neither right nor wrong. Its central idea is in-
difference. It holds that it makes no more dif-
ference to me whether the Territories become
free or slave States than whether my neighbor
stocks his farm with horned cattle or puts
it into tobacco. All recognize this policy, the
plausible sugar-coated name of which is "popular
sovereignty."
Mr. Lincoln showed up the fallacy of this
policy at length, and then made a manly vindica-
tion of the principles of the Republican party,
urging the necessity of the union of all elements
to free our country from its present rule, and
closed with an eloquent exhortation for each and
every one to do his duty without regard to the
sneers and slanders of our political opponents.
8o SPEECHES [May 19
Reply to the Committee Informing Him of
His Nomination for President by the
Chicago Convention.
May 19, i860.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Com-
mittee: I tender to you, and through you to the
Republican National Convention, and all the
people represented in it, my profoundest thanks
for the high honor done me, which you now
formally announce. Deeply and even painfully
sensible of the great responsibility which is in-
separable from this high honor — a responsibility
which I could almost wish had fallen upon some
one of the far more eminent men and experi-
enced statesmen whose distinguished names
were before the convention — I shall, by your
leave, consider more fully the resolutions of the
convention, denominated the platform,* and
without any unnecessary or unreasonable delay
respond to you, Mr. Chairman, in writing, not
doubting that the platform will be found satis-
factory, and the nomination gratefully accepted.
And now I will not longer defer the pleasure
of taking you, and each of you, by the hand.
Acceptance of Nomination as President.
Letter to George Ashmun and Others.
Springfield, III. May 23, i860.
Hon. George Ashmun,
President of the Republican National Con-
vention.
Sir: I accept the nomination tendered me by
* See succeeding pages.
i860] REPUBLICAN PLATFORM 81
the convention over which you presided, and of
which I am formally apprised in the letter of
yourself and others, acting as a committee of the
convention for that purpose.
The declaration of principles and sentiments
which accompanies your letter meets my ap-
proval; and it shall be my care not to violate
or disregard it in any part.
Imploring the assistance of Divine Providence,
and with due regard to the views and feelings of
all who were represented in the convention — to
the rights of all the States and Territories and
people of the nation; to the inviolability of the
Constitution ; and the perpetual union, harmony,
and prosperity of all — I am most happy to co-
operate for the practical success of the principles
declared by the convention.
Your obliged friend and fellow-citizen,
A. Lincoln.
PLATFORM
Resolved, That we, the delegated representatives of
the Republican electors of the United States, in con-
vention assembled, in the discharge of the duty we owe
to our constituents and our country, unite in the fol-
lowing declarations:
i. That the history of the nation during the last four
years has fully established the propriety and necessity
of the organization and perpetuation of the Republican
party; and that the causes which called it into existence
are permanent in their nature, and now, more than
ever before, demand its peaceful and constitutional
triumph.
2. That the maintenance of the principles promul-
gated in the Declaration of Independence and em-
bodied in the Federal Constitution is essential to the
preservation of our Republican institutions, and that
82 SPEECHES [May i9
the Federal Constitution, the rights of the States, and
the union of the States, must and shall be preserved.
3. That to the union of the States this nation owes its
unprecedented increase in population, its surprising
development of material resources, its rapid augmenta-
tion of wealth, its happiness at home, and its honor
abroad; and we hold in abhorrence all schemes for dis-
union, come from whatever source they may. And we
congratulate the country that no Republican member of
Congress has uttered or countenanced the threats of
disunion so often made by Democratic members with-
out rebuke and with applause from their political as-
sociates; and we denounce those threats of disunion, in
case of a popular overthrow of their ascendancy, as
denying the vital principles of a free government, and
as an avowal of contemplated treason, which it is the
imperative duty of an indignant people sternly to re-
buke and forever silence.
4. That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of
the States, and especially the right of each State to
order and control its own domestic institutions accord-
ing to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to
that balance of power on which the perfection and
endurance of our political fabric depend and we
denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the
soil of any State or Territory, no matter under what
pretext, as among the gravest of crimes.
5. That the present Democratic administration has
far exceeded our worst apprehensions in its measure-
less subserviency to the exactions of a sectional in-
terest, as especially evinced in its desperate exertions to
force the infamous Lecompton constitution upon the
protesting people of Kansas, in construing the personal
relation between master and servant to involve an
unqualified property in persons; in its attempted en-
forcement everywhere, on land and sea, through the
intervention of Congress and of the Federal courts,
of the extreme pretensions of a purely local interest;
and in its general and unvarying abuse of the power
intrusted to it by a confiding people.
6. That the people justly view with alarm the reckless
extravagance which pervades every department of the
Federal Government; that a return to rigid economy
and accountability is indispensable to arrest the sys-
tematic plunder of the public treasury by favored
i860] REPUBLICAN PLATFORM 83
partisans; while the recent startling developments of
frauds and corruptions at the Federal metropolis show
that an entire change of administration is imperatively
demanded.
7. That the new dogma that the Constitution, of its
own force, carries slavery into any or all of the Ter-
ritories of the United States, is a dangerous political
heresy, at variance with the explicit provisions of that
instrument itself, with contemporaneous exposition,
and with legislative and judicial precedent; is revolu-
tionary in its tendency, and subversive of the peace and
harmony of the country.
8. That the normal condition of all the territory of
the United States is that of freedom; that as our
Republican fathers, when they had abolished slavery in
all our national territory, ordained that "no person
should be deprived of life, liberty, or property with-
out due process of law," it becomes our duty,
by legislation, whenever such legislation is necessary
to maintain this provision of the Constitution against
all attempts to violate it; and we deny the au-
thority of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of
any individuals, to give legal existence to slavery in
any Territory of the United States
9. That we brand the recent reopening of the African
slave-trade, under the cover of our national flag, aided
by perversion of judicial power, as a crime against
humanity and a burning shame to our country and age;
and we call upon Congress to take prompt and efficient
measures for the total and final suppression of that
execrable traffic.
10. That in the recent vetoes, by their Federal gov-
ernors, of the acts of the legislatures of Kansas and
Nebraska prohibiting slavery in those Territories, we
find a practical illustration of the boasted Democratic
principle of non-intervention and popular sovereignty
embodied in the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and a demon-
stration of the deception and fraud involved therein.
11. That Kansas should, of right, be immediately ad-
mitted as a State under the constitution recently
formed and adopted by her people, and accepted by the
House of Representatives.
12. That while providing revenue for the support of
the General Government by duties upon imports, sound
policy requires such an adjustment of these imposts as
84 SPEECHES [Aug. 14
to encourage the development of the industrial interests
of the whole country; and we commend that policy of
national exchanges which secures to the working-men
liberal wages, to agriculture remunerating prices, to
mechanics and manufacturers an adequate reward for
their skill, labor, and enterprise, and to the nation com-
mercial prosperity and independence.
13. That we protest against any sale or alienation to
others of the public lands held by actual settlers, and
against any view of the free-homestead policy which
regards the settlers as paupers or suppliants for public
bounty; and we demand the passage by Congress of the
complete and satisfactory homestead measure which
has already passed the House
14. That the national Republican party is opposed to
any change in our naturalization laws, or any State
legislation by which the rights of citizenship hitherto
accorded to immigrants from foreign lands shall be
abridged or impaired; and in favor of giving a full and
efficient protection to the rights of all classes of
citizens, whether native or naturalized, both at home
and abroad.
15. That appropriations by Congress for river and
harbor improvements of a national character, required
for the accommodation and security of an existing com-
merce, are authorized by the Constitution and justified
by the obligation of government to protect the lives
and property of its citizens.
16. That a railroad to the Pacific Ocean is im-
peratively demanded by the interests of the whole
country; that the Federal Government ought to render
immediate and efficient aid in its construction; and that,
as preliminary thereto, a daily overland mail should
be promptly established.
17. Finally, having thus set forth our distinctive
principles and views, we invite the cooperation of all
citizens, however differing on other questions, who
substantially agree with us in their affirmance and
support.
i860] AT SPRINGFIELD 85
The Cause, Not the Man.
Remarks at Springfield, III. August 14,
i860.
My Fellow-citizens: I appear among you upon
this occasion with no intention of making a
speech.
It has been my purpose since I have been
placed in my present position to make no
speeches. This assemblage having been drawn
together at the place of my residence, it appeared
to be the wish of those constituting this vast
assembly to see me ; and it is certainly my wish to
see all of you. I appear upon the ground here at
this time only for the purpose of affording my-
self the best opportunity of seeing you, and en-
abling you to see me.
I confess with gratitude, be it understood, that
I did not suppose my appearance among you
would create the tumult which I now witness. I
am profoundly grateful for this manifestation of
your feelings. I am grateful, because it is a
tribute such as can be paid to no man as a man ;
it is the evidence that four years from this time
you will give a like manifestation to the next man
who is the representative of the truth on the
questions that now agitate the public ; and it is
because you will then fight for this cause as you
do now, or with even greater ardor than now,
though I be dead and gone, that I most pro-
foundly and sincerely thank you.
Having said this much, allow me now to say
that it is my wish that you will hear this public
discussion by others of our friends who are
present for the purpose of addressing you, and
that you will kindly let me be silent.
86 SPEECHES [Feb. n
Charity Towards Political Opponents.
Remarks at Springfield, III., at a Celebra-
tion of His Election. November 20, i860.
Friends and Fellow-citizens: Please excuse me
on this occasion from making a speech. I thank
you in common with all those who have thought
fit by their votes to indorse the Republican cause.
I rejoice with you in the success which has thus
far attended that cause. Yet in all our rejoic-
ings, let us neither express nor cherish any hard
feelings toward any citizen who by his vote has
differed with us. Let us at all times remember
that all American citizens are brothers of a com-
mon country, and should dwell together in the
bonds of fraternal feeling. Let me again beg
you to accept my thanks, and to excuse me from
further speaking at this time.
Political Opponents in the Cabinet.
Editorial in the Illinois Journal. December
12, i860.
We hear such frequent allusions to a supposed
purpose on the part of Mr. Lincoln to call into
his cabinet two or three Southern gentlemen
from the parties opposed to him politically, that
we are prompted to ask a few questions.
First. Is it known that any such gentleman of
character would accept a place in the cabinet?
Second. If yea, on what terms does he sur-
render to Mr. Lincoln, or Mr. Lincoln to him, on
the political differences between them ; or do they
enter upon the administration in open opposition
to each other?
i86i] AT INDIANAPOLIS 87
Farewell to Home Folks.
Remarks to Springfield Neighbors on Leav-
ing for Washington. February ii, 1861.
My Friends: No one, not in my situation, can
appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting.
To this place, and the kindness of these people, I
owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of
a century, and have passed from a young to an
old man. Here my children have been born, and
one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when
or whether ever I may return, with a task before
me greater than that which rested upon Wash-
ington. Without the assistance of that Divine
Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed.
With that assistance, I cannot fail. Trusting in
Him who can go with me, and remain with you,
and be everywhere for good, let us confidently
hope that all will yet be well. To His care com-
mending you, as I hope in your prayers you will
commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.
The Preservation of the Union : It Rests with
the People.
Remarks at Indianapolis, Ind. February ii,
1861.
Governor Morton and Fellow-citizens of the
State of Indiana: Most heartily do I thank you
for this magnificent reception ; and while I cannot
take to myself any share of the compliment thus
paid, more than that which pertains to a mere
instrument — an accidental instrument perhaps I
should say — of a great cause, I yet must look
upon it as a magnificent reception, and as such
88 SPEECHES [Feb. 12
most heartily do I thank you for it. You have
been pleased to address yourself to me chiefly in
behalf of this glorious Union in which we live, in
all of which you have my hearty sympathy, and,
as far as may be within my power, will have, one
and inseparably, my hearty cooperation. While
I do not expect, upon this occasion, or until I get
to Washington, to attempt any lengthy speech, I
will only say that to the salvation of the Union
there needs but one single thing, the hearts of a
people like yours. When the people rise in mass
in behalf of the Union and the liberties of this
country, truly may it be said, "The gates of hell
cannot prevail against them." In all trying posi-
tions in which I shall be placed, and doubtless I
shall be placed in many such my reliance will be
upon you and the people of the United States ;
and I wish you to remember, now and forever,
that it is your business, and not mine ; that if the
union of these States and the liberties of this peo-
ple shall be lost, it is but little to any one man of
fifty-two years of age, but a great deal to the
thirty millions of people who inhabit these United
States, and to their posterity in all coming time.
It is your business to rise up and preserve the
Union and liberty for yourselves, and not for me.
I appeal to you again to constantly bear in mind
that not with politicians, not with Presidents, not
with office-seekers, but with you, is the question :
Shall the Union and shall the liberties of this
country be preserved to the latest generations ?
i86i] BEFORE INDIANA LEGISLATURE 89
The Union: Is It a Marriage Bond or a Free
Love Arrangement?
Remarks to the Indiana Legislature, at
Indianapolis. February 12, 1861.
Fellow-citizens of the State of Indiana: I am
here to thank you much for this magnificent wel-
come, and still more for the generous support
given by your State to that political cause which
I think is the true and just cause of the whole
country and the whole world. Solomon says
there is "a time to keep silence," and when men
wrangle by the month with no certainty that
they mean the same thing, while using the
same word, it perhaps were as well if they
would keep silence. The words "coercion
and "invasion" are much used in these days, and
often with some temper and hot blood. Let us
make sure, if we can, that we do not misunder-
stand the meaning of those who use them. Let
us get exact definitions of these words, not from
dictionaries, but from the men themselves, who
certainly deprecate the things they would
represent by the use of words. What then, is
"coercion"? What is "invasion"? Would the
marching of an army into South Carolina with-
out the consent of her people, and with hostile in-
tent toward them, be "invasion"? I certainly
think it would ; and it would be "coercion" also \i
the South Carolinians were forced to submit.
But if the United States should merely hold and
retake its own forts and other property, and col-
lect the duties on foreign importations, or even
withhold the mails from places where they were
habitually violated, would any or all of these
things be "invasion" or "coercion"? Do our
9o SPEECHES [Feb. 12
professed lovers of the Union, but who spitefully
resolve that they will resist coercion and invasion,
understand that such things as these on the part
of the United States would be coercion or in-
vasion of a State? If so, their idea of means tot
preserve the object of their great affection would
seem to be exceedingly thin and airy. If sick,
the little pills of the homeopathist would be much
too large for them to swallow. In their view, the
Union as a family relation would seem to be no
regular marriage, but rather a sort of "free-love"
arrangement, to be maintained only on "passional
attraction." By the way, in what consists the
special sacredness of a State? I speak not of
the position assigned to a State in the Union by
the Constitution ; for that, by the bond, we all
recognize. That position, however, a State can-
not carry out of the Union with it. I speak of
that assumed primary right of a State to rule
all which is less than itself, and ruin all which is
larger than itself. If a State and a county, in
a given case, should be equal in extent of terri-
tory, and equal in number of inhabitants, in what,
as a matter of principle, is the State better than
the county? Would an exchange of names be
an exchange of rights upon principle? On what
rightful principle may a State, being not more
than one fiftieth part of the nation in soil and
population, break up the nation and then coerce
a proportionally larger subdivision of itself in
the most arbitrary way? What mysterious
right to play tyrant is conferred on a district of
country with its people, by merely calling it a
State? Fellow-citizens, I am not asserting any-
thing; I am merely asking questions for you to
consider. And now allow me to bid you farewell.
i85i] AT CINCINNATI 91
Good Will to the South.
Remarks at Reception by the Mayor and
Citizens of Cincinnati, Ohio. February
12, 1861.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies, and Gentlemen: Twenty-
four hours ago, at the capital of Indiana, I said
to myself I have never seen so many people as-
sembled together in winter weather. I am no
longer able to say that. But it is what might
reasonably have been expected — that this great
city of Cincinnati would thus acquit herself on
such an occasion. My friends, I am entirely
overwhelmed by the magnificence of the recep-
tion which has been given, I will not say to me,
but to the President-elect of the United States of
America. Most heartily do I thank you, one
and all, for it.
I am reminded by the address of your worthy
mayor that this reception is given not by any
one political party, and even if I had not been
so reminded by his Honor I could not have
failed to know the fact by the extent of the
multitude I see before me now. I could not
look upon this vast assemblage without being
made aware that all parties were united in this
reception. This is as it should be. It is as it
should have been if Senator Douglas had been
elected. It is as it should have been if Mr. Bell
had been elected ; as it should have been if Mr.
Breckinridge had been elected ; as it should ever
be when any citizen of the United States is con-
stitutionally elected President of the United
States. Allow me to say that I think what has
occurred here to-day could not have occurred in
any other country on the face of the globe, with-
92
SPEECHES [Feb. 12
out the influence of the free institutions which
we have unceasingly enjoyed for three quarters
of a century.
There is no country where the people can turn
out and enjoy this day precisely as they please,
save under the benign influence of the free in-
stitutions of our land.
I hope that, although we have some threaten-
ing national difficulties now — I hope that while
these free institutions shall continue to be in the
enjoyment of millions of free people of the
United States, we will see repeated every four
years what we now witness.
In a few short years I, and every other indi-
vidual man who is now living, will pass away ; I
hope that our national difficulties will also pass
away; and I hope we shall see in the streets of
Cincinnati — good old Cincinnati — for centuries
to come, once every four years, her people give
such a reception as this to the constitutionally
elected President of the whole United States. I
hope you shall all join in that reception, and that
you shall also welcome your brethren from
across the river to participate in it. We will
welcome them in every State of the Union, no
matter where they are from. From away South
we shall extend them a cordial good will, when
our present difficulties shall have been forgotten
and blown to the winds forever.
I have spoken but once before this in Cin-
cinnati. That was a year previous to the late
presidential election. On that occasion, in a
playful manner, but with sincere words, I ad-
dressed much of what I said to the Kentuckians.
I gave my opinion that we as Republicans would
ultimately beat them as Democrats, but that they
1861] AT CINCINNATI 93
could postpone that result longer by nominating
Senator Douglas for the presidency than they
could in any other way. They did not, in any
true sense of the word, nominate Mr. Douglas,
and the result has come certainly as soon as ever
I expected. I also told them how I expected
they would be treated after they should have
been beaten; and now I wish to recall their at-
tention to what I then said upon that subject. I
then said, "When we do as we say, — beat you, —
you perhaps want to know what we will do with
you. I will tell you, so far as I am authorized
to speak for the opposition, what we mean to do
with you. We mean to treat you, as near as we
possibly can, as Washington, Jefferson, and
Madison treated you. We mean to leave you
alone, and in no way to interfere with your in-
stitutions ; to abide by all and every compromise
of the Constitution ; and, in a word, coming back
to the original proposition, to treat you, so far
as degenerate men — if we have degenerated —
may, according to the examples of those noble
fathers, Washington, Jefferson, and Madison.
We mean to remember that you are as good as
we ; that there is no difference between us other
than the difference of circumstances. We mean
to recognize and bear in mind always that you
have as good hearts in your bosoms as other
people, or as we claim to have, and treat you ac-
cordingly."
Fellow-citizens of Kentucky ! — friends ! —
brethren ! may I call you in my new position ? I
see no occasion, and feel no inclination, to retract
a word of this. If it shall not be made good,, be
assured the fault shall not be mine.
And now, fellow-citizens of Ohio, have you,
94 SPEECHES [Feb. 12
who agree with him who now addresses you in
political sentiment — have you ever entertained
other sentiments toward our brethren of Ken-
tucky than those I have expressed to you? If
not, then why shall we not, as heretofore, be
recognized and acknowledged as brethren again,
living in peace and harmony again one with an-
other ? I take your response as the most reliable
evidence that it may be so, trusting, through the
good sense of the American people, on all sides
of all rivers in America, under the providence of
God, who has never deserted us, that we shall
again be brethren, forgetting all parties, ignor-
ing all parties. My friends, I now bid you fare-
well.
Against Restriction of Immigration.
Remarks to Germans at Cincinnati, Ohio.
February 12, 1861.
Mr. Chairman: I thank you and those whom
you represent for the compliment you have paid
me by tendering me this address. In so far as
there is an allusion to our present national dif-
ficulties, which expresses, as you have said, the
views of the gentlemen present, I shall have to
beg pardon for not entering fully upon the ques-
tions which the address you have now read
suggests.
I deem it my duty — a duty which I owe to my
constituents — to you, gentlemen, that I should
wait until the last moment for a development of
the present national difficulties before I express
myself decidedly as to what course I shall pur-
sue. I hope, then, not to be false to anything
that you have to expect of me.
i860] AT CINCINNATI 95
I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, that the
working-men are the basis of all governments,
for the plain reason that they are the more
numerous, and as you added that those were the
sentiments of the gentlemen present, represent-
ing not only the working-class, but citizens of
other callings than those of the mechanic, I am
happy to concur with you in these sentiments,
not only of the native-born citizens, but also of
the Germans and foreigners from other coun-
tries.
Mr. Chairman, I hold that while man exists
it is his duty to improve not only his own condi-
tion, but to assist in ameliorating mankind ; and
therefore, without entering upon the details of
the question, I will simply say that I am for
those means which will give the greatest good
to the greatest number.
In regard to the homestead law, I have to say
that in so far as the government lands can be
disposed of, I am in favor of cutting up the wild
lands into parcels, so that every poor man may
have a home.
In regard to the Germans and foreigners, I
esteem them no better than other people, nor any
worse. It is not my nature, when I see a people
borne down by the weight of their shackles — the
oppression of tyranny — to make their life more
bitter by heaping upon them greater burdens ;
but rather would I do all in my power to raise
the yoke than to add anything that would tend
to crush them.
Inasmuch as our country is extensive and new,
and the countries of Europe are densely popu-
lated, if there are any abroad who desire to make
this the land of their adoption, it is not in my
96 SPEECHES [Feb. 14
heart to throw aught in their way to prevent
them from coming to the United States.
Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I will bid you
an affectionate farewell.
"Nothing is Going Wrong."
Remarks to the Legislature of Ohio at
Columbus. February 13, 1861.
Mr. President and Mr. Speaker, and Gentle-
men of the General Assembly of Ohio: It is true,
as has been said by the president of the Senate,
that very great responsibility rests upon me in
the position to which the votes of the American
people have called me. I am deeply sensible of
that weighty responsibility. I cannot but know
what you all know, that without a name, perhaps
without a reason why I should have a name,
there has fallen upon me a task such as did not
rest even upon the Father of his Country ; and
so feeling, I can turn and look for that support
without which it will be impossible for me to
perform that great task. I turn, then, and look
to the American people, and to that God who has
never forsaken them. Allusion has been made
to the interest felt in relation to the policy of the
new administration. In this I have received
from some a degree of credit for having kept
silence, and from others some deprecation. I
still think that I was right. . . .
In the varying and repeatedly shifting scenes
of the present, and without a precedent which
could enable me to judge by the past, it has
seemed fitting that before speaking upon the dif-
ficulties of the country I should have gained a
i86i] AT STEUBENVILLE 97
view of the whole field, being at liberty to modify
and change the course of policy as future events
may make a change necessary.
I have not maintained silence from any want
of real anxiety. It is a good thing that there is
no more than anxiety, for there is nothing going
wrong. It is a consoling circumstance that
when we look out there is nothing that really
hurts anybody. We entertain different views
upon political questions, but nobody is suffering
anything. This is a most consoling circum-
stance, and from it we may conclude that all we
want is time, patience, and a reliance on that
God who has never forsaken this people.
Fellow-citizens, what I have said I have said
altogether extemporaneously, and I will now
come to a close.
The Majority Should Rule.
Remarks at Steubenville, Ohio. February
14, 1861.
I fear that the great confidence placed in my
ability is unfounded. Indeed, I am sure it is.
Encompassed by vast difficulties as I am, nothing
shall be wanting on my part, if sustained by God
and the American people. I believe the devotion
to the Constitution is equally great on both sides
of the river. It is only the different understand-
ing of that instrument that causes difficulty. The
only dispute on both sides is, "What are their
rights?" If the majority should not rule, who
would be the judge? Where is such a judge to
be found? We should all be bound by the ma-
jority of the American people ; if not, then the
98 SPEECHES [Feb. 15
minority must control. Would that be right?
Would it be just or generous? Assuredly not.
I reiterate that the majority should rule. If I
adopt a wrong policy, the opportunity for con-
demnation will occur in four years' time. Then
I can be turned out, and a better man with better
views put in my place.
For Equalization of Foreign and Domestic
Prices by a Protective Tariff.
Remarks at Pittsburg, Pa. February 15,
1861.
I most cordially thank his Honor Mayor Wil-
son, and the citizens of Pittsburg generally, for
their nattering reception. I am the more grateful
because I know that it is not given to me alone,
but to the cause I represent, which clearly proves
to me their good-will, and that sincere feeling is
at the bottom of it. And here I may remark
that in every short address I have made to the
people, in every crowd through which I have
passed of late, some allusion has been made to
the present distracted condition of the country.
It is natural to expect that I should say some-
thing on this subject ; but to touch upon it at all
would involve an elaborate discussion of a great
many questions and circumstances, requiring
more time than I can at present command, and
would, perhaps, unnecessarily commit me upon
matters which have not yet fully developed them-
selves. The condition of the country is an ex-
traordinary one, and fills the mind of every pa-
triot with anxiety. It is my intention to give this
i86i] AT PITTSBURG
99
subject all the consideration I possibly can before
specially deciding in regard to it, so that when I
do speak it may be as nearly right as possible.
When I do speak I hope I may say nothing in
opposition to the spirit of the Constitution, con-
trary to the integrity of the Union, or which
will prove inimical to the liberties of the people,
or to the peace of the whole country. And,
furthermore, when the time arrives for me to
speak on this great subject, I hope I may say
nothing to disappoint the people generally
throughout the country, especially if the expecta-
tion has been based upon anything which I may
have heretofore said. Notwithstanding the
troubles across the river [the speaker pointing
southwardly across the Monongahela, and smil-
ing] , there is no crisis but an artificial one.
What is there now to warrant the condition of
affairs presented by our friends over the river?
Take even their own view of the questions in-
volved, and there is nothing to justify the course
they are pursuing. I repeat, then, there is no
crisis, excepting such a one as may be gotten up
at any time by turbulent men aided by designing
politicians. My advice to them, under such cir-
cumstances, is to keep cool. If the great Ameri-
can people only keep their temper on both sides
of the line, the troubles will come to an end, and
the question which now distracts the country will
be settled, just as surely as all other difficulties
of a like character which have originated in this
government have been adjusted. Let the people
on both sides keep their self-possession, and just
as other clouds have cleared away in due time,
so will this great nation continue to prosper as
heretofore. But, fellow-citizens, I have spoken
loo SPEECHES [Feb. 15
longer on this subject than I intended at the out-
set.
It is often said that the tariff is the specialty
of Pennsylvania. Assuming that direct taxation
is not to be adopted, the tariff question must be
as durable as the government itself. It is a ques-
tion of national housekeeping. It is to the gov-
ernment what replenishing the meal-tub is to the
family. Ever-varying circumstances will require
frequent modifications as to the amount needed
and the sources of supply. So far there is little
difference of opinion among the people. It is as
to whether, and how far, duties on imports shall
be adjusted to favor home production in the home
market, that controversy begins. One party in-
sists that such adjustment oppresses one class for
the advantage of another; while the other party
argues that, with all its incidents, in the long run
all classes are benefited. In the Chicago plat-
form there is a plank upon this subject which
should be a general law to the incoming admin-
istration. We should do neither more nor less
than we gave the people reason to believe we
would when they gave us their votes. Permit
me, fellow-citizens, to read the tariff plank of
the Chicago platform, or rather have it read in
your hearing by one who has younger eyes.
Mr. Lincoln's private secretary then read Sec-
tion 12 of the Chicago platform, as follows :
That while providing revenue for the support of the
General Government by duties upon imports, sound
policy requires such an adjustment of these imposts as
will encourage the development of the industrial in-
terest of the whole country; and we commend that
policy of national exchanges which secures to working-
men liberal wages, to agriculture remunerating prices,
to mechanics and manufacturers adequate reward for
i86i] AT PITTSBURG 101
their skill, labor, and enterprise, and to the nation
commercial prosperty and independence.
Mr Lincoln resumed : As with all general prop-
ositions, doubtless there will be shades of differ-
ence in construing this. I have by no means a
thoroughly matured judgment upon this subject,
especially as to details; some general ideas are
about all. I have long thought it would be to our
advantage to produce any necessary article at
home which can be made of as good quality and
with as little labor at home as abroad, at least by
the difference of the carrying from abroad In
such case the carrying is demonstrably a dead loss
of labor. For instance, labor being the true
standard of value, is it not plain that if equal
labor get a bar of railroad iron out of a mine in
England, and another out of a mine in Pennsyl-
vania, each can be laid down in a track at home
cheaper than they could exchange countries, at
least by the carriage? If there be a present
cause why one can be both made and carried
cheaper in money price than the other can be
made without carrying, that cause is an un-
natural and injurious one, and ought gradually,
if not rapidly, to be removed. The condition ot
the treasury at this time would seem to render
an early revision of the tariff indispensable. Ine
Morrill [tariff] bill, now pending before Con-
gress, may or may not become a law. I am not
posted as to its particular provisions, but if they
are generally satisfactory, and the bill shall now
pass, there will be an end for the present. It,
however, it shall not pass, I suppose the whole
subject will be one of the most pressing and im-
portant for the next Congress. By the Constitu-
102 SPEECHES [Feb. 15
tion, the executive may recommend measures
which he may think proper, and he may veto
those he thinks improper, and it is supposed that
he may add to these certain indirect influences to
affect the action of Congress. My political edu-
cation strongly inclines me against a very free
use of any of these means by the executive to
control the legislation of the country. As a rule,
I think it better that Congress should originate
as well as perfect its measures without external
bias. I therefore would rather recommend to
every gentleman who knows he is to be a member
of the next Congress to take an enlarged view,
and post himself thoroughly, so as to contribute
his part to such an adjustment of the tariff as
shall produce a sufficient revenue, and in its other
bearings, so far as possible, be just and equal to
all sections of the country and classes of the
people.
The Crisis is Artificial.
Remarks at Cleveland, Ohio. February 15,
1861.
Fellow-citizens of Cleveland and Ohio: We
have come here upon a very inclement afternoon.
We have marched for two miles through the rain
and the mud.
The large numbers that have turned out under
these circumstances testify that you are in ear-
nest about something, and what is that something ?
I would not have you suppose that I think this
extreme earnestness is about me. I should be
exceedingly sorry to see such devotion if that
were the case. But I know it is paid to some-
i86i] AT CLEVELAND 103
thing wort1! more than any one man, or any thou-
sand or ten thousand men. You have assembled
to testify your devotion to the Constitution, to
the Union, and the laws, to the perpetual liberty
of the people of this country. It is, fellow-citi-
zens, for the whole American people, and not for
one single man alone, to advance the great cause
of the Union and the Constitution. And in ?.
country like this, where every man bears on his
face the marks of intelligence, where every man's
clothing, if I may so speak, shows signs of com-
fort, and every dwelling signs of happiness and
contentment, where schools and churches abound
on every side, the Union can never be in danger.
I would, if I could, instill some degree of patriot-
ism and confidence into the political mind in rela-
tion to this matter.
Frequent allusion is made to the excitement at
present existing in our national politics, and it is
as well that I should also allude to it here. I
think that there is no occasion for any excite-
ment. I think the crisis, as it is called, is alto-
gether an artificial one. In all parts of the nation
there are differences of opinion on politics ; there
are differences of opinion even here. You did
not all vote for the person who now addresses
you, although quite enough of you did for all
practical purposes, to be sure.
What they do who seek to destroy the Union
is altogether artificial. What is happening to
hurt them ? Have they not all their rights now as
they ever have had ? Do not they have their fugi-
tive slaves returned now as ever ? Have they not
the same Constitution that they have lived under
for seventy-odd years ? Have they not a position
as citizens of this common country, and have we
104 SPEECHES [Feb. 16
any power to change that position? [Cries of
"No!"] What then is the matter with them?
Why all this excitement? Why all these com-
plaints? As I said before, this crisis is alto-
gether artificial. It has no foundation in fact.
It can't be argued up, and it can't be argued
down. Let it alone, and it will go down of itself.
I have not strength, fellow-citizens, to ad-
dress you at great length, and pray that you will
excuse me; but rest assured that my thanks are
as cordial and sincere for the efficient aid which
you will give to the good cause in working for
the good of the nation, as for the votes you gave
me last fall.
There is one feature that causes me great
pleasure, and that is to learn that this reception
is given, not alone by those with whom I chance
to agree politically, but by all parties. I think I
am not selfish when I say this is as it should be.
If Judge Douglas had been chosen President of
the United States, and had this evening been
passing through your city, the Republicans
should have joined his supporters in welcoming
him just as his friends have joined with mine
to-night. If we do not make common cause to
save the good old ship of the Union on this voy-
age, nobody will have a chance to pilot her on
another voyage.
To all of you, then, who have done me the
honor to participate in this cordial welcome, I
return most sincerely my thanks, not for myself,
but for Liberty, the Constitution, and Union.
I bid you an affectionate farewell.
1861] AT BUFFALO 105
The Stability of the Union.
Remarks at Buffalo, N. Y. February 16,
1861.
Mr. Mayor and Fellow-citizens of Buffalo and
the State of New York: I am here to thank you
briefly for this grand reception given to me, not
personally, but as the representative of our great
and beloved country. Your worthy mayor has
been pleased to mention, in his address to me, the
fortunate and agreeable journey which I have
had from home, on my rather circuitous route to
the Federal capital. I am very happy that he was
enabled in truth to congratulate myself and com-
pany on that fact. It is true we have had nothing
thus far to mar the pleasure of the trip. We
have not been met alone by those who assisted
in giving the election to me — I say not alone by
them, but by the whole population of the country
through which we have passed. This is as it
should be. Had the election fallen to any other
of the distinguished candidates instead of my-
self, under the peculiar circumstances, to say the
least, it would have been proper for all citizens
to have greeted him as you now greet me. It is
an evidence of the devotion of the whole people
to the Constitution, the Union, and the perpetu-
ity of the liberties of this country. I am unwill-
ing on any occasion that I should be so meanly
thought of as to have it supposed for a moment
that these demonstrations are tendered to me per-
sonally. They are tendered to the country, to the
institutions of the country, and to the perpetuity
of the liberties of the country, for which these
institutions were made and created.
Your worthy mayor has thought fit to express
106 SPEECHES [Feb. 19
the hope that I may be able to relieve the country
from the present, or, I should say, the threatened
difficulties. I am sure I bring a heart true to the
work. For the ability to perform it, I must trust
in that Supreme Being who has never forsaken
this favored land, through the instrumentality of
this great and intelligent people. Without that
assistance I shall surely fail ; with it, I cannot
fail. When we speak of threatened difficulties
to the country, it is natural that it should be ex-
pected that something should be said by myself
with regard to particular measures. Upon more
mature reflection, however, others will agree
with me that, when it is considered that these
difficulties are without precedent, and have never
been acted upon by any individual situated as I
am, it is most proper I should wait and see the
developments, and get all the light possible, so
that when I do speak authoritatively, I may be
as near right as possible. When I shall speak
authoritatively, I hope to say nothing inconsistent
with the Constitution, the Union, the rights of all
the States, of each State, and of each section of
the country, and not to disappoint the reasonable
expectations of those who have confided to me
their votes. In this connection allow me to say
that you, as a portion of the great American
people, need only to maintain your composure,
stand up to your sober convictions of right, to
your obligations to the Constitution, and act in
accordance with those sober convictions, and the
clouds now on the horizon will be dispelled, and
we shall have a bright and glorious future; and
when this generation has passed away, tens of
thousands will inhabit this country where only
thousands inhabit it now. I do not propose to
1861] IN NEW YORK CITIES 107
address you at length ; I have no voice for it.
Allow me again to thank you for this magnificent
reception, and bid you farewell.
The President's Dependence on the People.
At Rochester, Syracuse, and Utica, N. Y.,
President-elect Lincoln made two-minute speeches
from the train, on February 18, 1861. At Rochester he
repeated the thought that the people had gathered to
see him, not as an individual but as their President.
At Syracuse he refused to go on a platform that had
been set up for him, on the plea that a longer speech
than he was capable of making would be required of
him. "But I wish you to understand that, though I
am unwilling to go upon this platform, you are not at
liberty to draw any inference concerning any other
platform with which my name has been or is con-
nected." At Utica he said that he had no speech, but
appeared solely to see and be seen, in which reciprocal
arrangement he claimed to have the best of the bargain
as far as the ladies were concerned, though he would
not admit this in the case of the men. These senti-
ments he repeated at Troy and Hudson, New York,
on February 19, 1861. At Peekskill, N. Y., on the
19th, he said:
"I will say in a single sentence, in regard to
the difficulties that lie before me and our beloved
country, that if I can only be as generously and
unanimously sustained as the demonstrations I
have witnessed indicate I shall be, I shall not fail ;
but without your sustaining hands I am sure that
neither I nor any other man can hope to sur-
mount these difficulties. I trust that in the course
I shall pursue I shall be sustained not only by
the party that elected me, but by the patriotic
people of the whole country."
108 SPEECHES [Feb. iS
President, not of a Party, but the Nation.
Reply to Governor Morgan of New York, at
Albany. February 18, 1861.
Governor Morgan: I was pleased to receive an
invitation to visit the capital of the great Empire
State of this nation while on my way to the Fed-
eral capital. I now thank you, Mr. Governor, and
you, the people of the capital of the State of New
York, for this most hearty and magnificent wel-
come. If I am not at fault, the great Empire
State at this time contains a larger population
than did the whole of the United States of
America at the time they achieved their national
independence, and I was proud to be invited to
visit its capital, to meet its citizens, as I now
have the honor to do. I am notified by your
governor that this reception is tendered by
citizens without distinction of party. Because of
this I accept it the more gladly. In this country,
and in any country where freedom of thought is
tolerated, citizens attach themselves to political
parties. It is but an ordinary degree of charity
to attribute this act to the supposition that in thus
attaching themselves to the various parties, each
man in his own judgment supposes he thereby
best advances the interests of the whole country.
And when an election is past, it is altogether be-
fitting a free people, as I suppose, that, until the
next election, they should be one people. The
reception you have extended me to-day is not
given to me personally, — it should not be so, —
but as the representative, for the time being, of
the majority of the nation. If the election had
fallen to any of the more distinguished citizens
who received the support of the people, this same
1861] TO NEW YORK LEGISLATURE 109
honor should have greeted him that greets me this
day, in testimony of the universal, unanimous
devotion of the whole people to the Constitution,
the Union, and to the perpetual liberties of suc-
ceeding generations in this country.
I have neither the voice nor the strength to
address you at any greater length. I beg you will
therefore accept my most grateful thanks for
this manifest devotion — not to me, but the insti-
tutions of this great and glorious country.
The Mightiest of Tasks for the Humblest of
Presidents.
Remarks before the New York Legislature
at Albany. February 18, 1861.
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the General
Assembly of the State of Nezv York: It is with
feelings of great diffidence, and, I may say, with
feelings of awe, perhaps greater than I have
recently experienced, that I meet you here in
this place. The history of this great State, the
renown of those great men who have stood here,
and have spoken here, and been heard here, all
crowd around my fancy, and incline me to shrink
from any attempt to address you. Yet I have
some confidence given me by the generous manner
in which you have invited me, and by the still more
generous manner in which you have received me,
to speak further. You have invited and received
me without distinction of party. I cannot for a
moment suppose that this has been done in any
considerable degree with reference to my per-
sonal services, but that it is done, in so far as I
am regarded, at this time, as the representative
no SPEECHES [Feb. 19
of the majesty of this great nation. I doubt not
this is the truth, and the whole truth, of the case,
and this is as it should be. It is much more grati-
fying to me that this reception has been given to
me as the elected representative of a free people,
than it could possibly be if tendered merely as an
evidence of devotion to me, or to any one man
personally.
And now I think it were more fitting that I
should close these hasty remarks. It is true that,
while I hold myself, without mock modesty, the
humblest of all individuals that have ever been
elevated to the presidency, I have a more difficult
task to perform than any one of them.
You have generously tendered me the support
— the united support — of the great Empire State.
For this, in behalf of the nation — in behalf of
the present and future of the nation — in behalf
of civil and religious liberty for all time to come,
most gratefully do I thank you. I do not propose
to enter into an explanation of any particular
line of policy, as to our present difficulties, to be
adopted by the incoming administration. I deem
it just to you, to myself, to all, that I should see
everything, that I should hear everything, that
I should have every light that can be brought
within my reach, in order that, when I do
speak, I shall have enjoyed every oppor-
tunity to take correct and true ground; and
for this reason I do not propose to speak at
this time of the policy of the government. But
when the time comes, I shall speak, as well as I
am able, for the good of the present and future
of this country — for the good both of the North
and of the South — for the good of the one and
the other, and of all sections of the country. In
i86i] AT POUGHKEEPSIE in
the mean time, if we have patience, if we restrain
ourselves, if we allow ourselves not to run off
in a passion, I still have confidence that the Al-
mighty, the Maker of the universe, will, through
the instrumentality of this great and intelligent
people, bring us through this as he has through
all the other difficulties of our country. Relying
on this, I again thank you for this generous re-
ception.
Piloting the Ship of State.
Remarks at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. February
19, 1861.
Fellow-citizens: It is altogether impossible
I should make myself heard by any considerable
portion of this vast assemblage; but, although
I appear before you mainly for the purpose of
seeing you, and to let you see rather than hear
me, I cannot refrain from saying that I am
highly gratified — as much here, indeed, under the
circumstances, as I have been anywhere on my
route — to witness this noble demonstration —
made, not in honor of an individual, but of the
man who at this time humbly, but earnestly, rep-
resents the majesty of the nation.
This reception, like all the others that have
been tendered to me, doubtless emanates from
all the political parties, and not from one alone.
As such I accept it the more gratefully, since it
indicates an earnest desire on the part of the
whole people, without regard to political differ-
ences, to save — not the country, because the
country will save itself — but to save the institu-
tions of the country — those institutions under
which, in the last three quarters of a century, we
112 SPEECHES [Feb. 19
have grown to a great, an intelligent, and a happy
people — the greatest, the most intelligent, and
the happiest people in the world. These noble
manifestations indicate, with unerring certainty,
that the whole people are willing to make com-
mon cause for this object; that if, as it ever
must be, some have been successful in the recent
election, and some have been beaten — if some are
satisfied, and some are dissatisfied, the defeated
party are not in favor of sinking the ship, but
are desirous of running it through the tempest
in safety, and willing, if they think the people
have committed an error in their verdict now, to
wait in the hope of reversing it, and setting it
right next time. I do not say that in the recent
election the people did the wisest thing that
could have been done; indeed, I do not think
they did ; but I do say that in accepting the great
trust committed to me, which I do with a deter-
mination to endeavor to prove worthy of it, I
must rely upon you, upon the people of the whole
country, for support; and with their sustaining
aid, even I, humble as I am, cannot fail to carry
the ship of state safely through the storm.
I have now only to thank you warmly for your
kind attendance, and bid you all an affectionate
farewell.
There is a Time for Silence.
Remarks at New York City. February 19,
1861.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: I am rather an
old man to avail myself of such an excuse as I am
now about to do. Yet the truth is so distinct,
and presses itself so distinctly upon me, that
i86i] 'AT NEW YORK
113
I cannot well avoid it — and that is, that I did not
understand when I was brought into this room
that I was to be brought here to make a speech.
It was not intimated to me that I was brought
into the room where Daniel Webster and Henry
Clay had made speeches, and where one in my
position might be expected to do something like
those men or say something worthy of myself
or my audience. I therefore beg you to make
allowance for the circumstances in which I have
been by surprise brought before you. Now I
have been in the habit of thinking and some-
times speaking upon political questions that have
for some years past agitated the country; and,
if I were disposed to do so, and we could take
up some one of the issues, as the lawyers call
them, and I were called upon to make an argu-
ment about it to the best of my ability, I could
do so without much preparation. But that is not
what you desire to have done here to-night.
I have been occupying a position, since the
presidential election, of silence — of avoiding pub-
lic speaking, of avoiding public writing. I have
been doing so because I thought, upon full con-
sideration, that was the proper course for me to
take. I am brought before you now, and re-
quired to make a speech, when you all approve
more than anything else of the fact that I have
been keeping silence. And now it seems to me
that the response you give to that remark ought
to justify me in closing just here. I have not
kept silence since the presidential election from
any party wantonness, or from any indifference
to the anxiety that pervades the minds of men
about the aspect of the political affairs of this
country. I have kept silence for the reason that
n4 SPEECHES [Feb. 20
I supposed it was peculiarly proper that I should
do so until the time came when, according to the
custom of the country, I could speak officially.
I still suppose that, while the political drama
being enacted in this country, at this time, is
rapidly shifting its scenes — forbidding an antici-
pation with any degree of certainty, to-day, of
what we shall see to-morrow — it is peculiarly
fitting that I should see it all, up to the last
minute, before I should take ground that I might
be disposed (by the shifting of the scenes after-
ward) also to shift. I have said several times
upon this journey, and I now repeat it to you,
that when the time does come, I shall then take
the ground that I think is right — right for the
North, for the South, for the East, for the West,
for the whole country. And in doing so, I hope
to feel no necessity pressing upon me to say any-
thing in conflict with the Constitution ; in con-
flict with the continued union of these States, in
conflict with the perpetuation of the liberties
of this people, or anything in conflict with any-
thing whatever that I have ever given you rea-
son to expect from me. And now, my friends,
have I said enough? [Loud cries of "No, nor
and "Three cheers for Lincoln!"] Now, my
friends, there appears to be a difference of
opinion between you and me, and I really feel
called upon to decide the question myself.
Save Ship and Cargo; if not Both, the Cargo.
Reply to the Mayor of New York City.
February 20, 1861.
Mr. Mayor: It is with feelings of deep grati-
tude that I make my acknowledgments for the
i86i] AT NEW YORK 115
reception that has been given me in the great
commercial city of New York. I cannot but re-
member that it is done by the people who do not,
by a large majority, agree with me in political
sentiment. It is the more grateful to me because
in this I see that for the great principles of our
government the people are pretty nearly or quite
unanimous. In regard to the difficulties that
confront us at this time, and of which you have
seen fit to speak so becomingly and so justly, I can
only say I agree with the sentiments expressed.
In my devotion to the Union I hope I am behind
no man in the nation. As to my wisdom in con-
ducting affairs so as to tend to the preservation
of the Union, I fear too great confidence may
have been placed in me. I am sure I bring a
heart devoted to the work. There is nothing that
could ever bring me to consent — willingly to con-
sent— to the destruction of this Union (in which
not only the great city of New York, but the
whole country, has acquired its greatness), unless
it would be that thing for which the Union itself
was made. I understand that the ship is made
for the carrying and preservation of the cargo;
and so long as the ship is safe with the cargo, it
shall not be abandoned. This Union shall never
be abandoned, unless the possibility of its exist-
ence shall cease to exist without the necessity of
throwing passengers and cargo overboard. So
long, then, as it is possible that the prosperity and
liberties of this people can be preserved within
this Union, it shall be my purpose at all times to
preserve it. And now, Mr. Mayor, renewing
my thanks for this cordial reception, allow me to
come to a close.
Ii6 SPEECHES [Feb. 21
The Liberty Inherited from the Fathers.
Address to the Senate of New Jersey, at
Trenton. February 21, 1861.
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Senate of
the State of New Jersey: I am very grateful
to you for the honorable reception of which
I have been the object. I cannot but
remember the place that New Jersey holds
in our early history. In the Revolutionary
struggle few of the States among the Old
Thirteen had more of the battlefields of
the country within their limits than New Jer-
sey. May I be pardoned if, upon this occa-
sion, I mention that away back in my childhood,
the earliest days of my being able to read, I got
hold of a small book, such a one as few of the
younger members have ever seen — Weems' "Life
of Washington." I remember all the accounts
there given of the battle-fields and struggles for
the liberties of the country, and none fix them-
selves upon my imagination so deeply as the
struggle here at Trenton, N. J. The cross-
ing of the river, the contest with the Hes-
sians, the great hardships endured at that time,
all fixed themselves on my memory more than
any single Revolutionary event; and you all
know, for you all have been boys, how these
early impressions last longer than any others. I
recollect thinking then, boy even though I was,
that there must have been something more than
common that these men struggled for. I am
exceedingly anxious that that thing — that some-
thing even more than national independence ; that
something that held out a great promise to all the
people of the world to all time to come — I am
i86i] 'AT TRENTON 117
exceedingly anxious that this Union, the Consti-
tution, and the liberties of the people shall be
perpetuated in accordance with the original idea
for which that struggle was made, and I shall
be most happy indeed if I shall be a humble in-
strument in the hands of the Almighty, and of
this, his almost chosen people, for perpetuating
the object of that great struggle. You give me
this reception, as I understand, without distinc-
tion of party. I learn that this body is composed
of a majority of gentlemen who, in the exercise
of their best judgment in the choice of a chief
magistrate, did not think I was the man. I
understand, nevertheless, that they come for-
ward here to greet me as the constitutionally
elected President of the United States — as citi-
zens of the United States to meet the man who,
for the time being, is the representative of the
majesty of the nation — united by the single pur-
pose to perpetuate the Constitution, the Union,
and the liberties of the people. As such, I ac-
cept this reception more gratefully than I could
do did I believe it were tendered to me as an
individual.
Putting the Foot Down Firmly.
Address to the Assembly of New Jersey, at
Trenton. February 21, 1861.
Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen: I have just en-
joyed the honor of a reception by the other
branch of this legislature, and I return to you and
them my thanks for the reception which the
people of New Jersey have given through their
chosen representatives to me as the representa-
n8 SPEECHES [Feb. 21
tive, for the time being, of the majesty of the
people of the United States. I appropriate to
myself very little of the demonstrations of re-
spect with which I have been greeted. I think
little should be given to any man, but that it
should be a manifestation of adherence to the
Union and the Constitution. I understand my-
self to be received here by the representatives
of the people of New Jersey, a majority of whom
differ in opinion from those with whom I have
acted. This manifestation is therefore to be re-
garded by me as expressing their devotion to the
Union, the Constitution, and the liberties of the
people.
You, Mr. Speaker, have well said that this is a
time when the bravest and wisest look with doubt
and awe upon the aspect presented by our na-
tional affairs. Under these circumstances you
will readily see why I should not speak in detail
of the course I shall deem it best to pursue. It
is proper that I should avail myself of all the
information and all the time at my command, in
order that when the time arrives in which I must
speak officially, I shall be able to take the ground
which I deem best and safest, and from which I
may have no occasion to sv/erve. I shall en-
deavor to take the ground I deem most just to the
North, the East, the West, the South, and the
whole country. I take it, I hope, in good temper,
certainly with no malice toward any section. I
shall do all that may be in my power to promote
a peaceful settlement of all our difficulties. The
man does not live who is more devoted to peace
than I am, none who would do more to preserve
it, but it may be necessary to put the foot down
firmly. [Here the audience broke out in cheers
i86i] AT PHILADELPHIA up
so load and long that for some moments it was
impossible to hear Mr. Lincoln's voice.] And if
I do my duty and do right, you will sustain me,
will you not? [Loud cheers, and cries of "Yes,
yes; zve will."] Received as I am by the mem-
bers of a legislature the majority of whom do not
agree with me in political sentiments, I trust that
I may have their assistance in piloting the ship of
state through this voyage, surrounded by perils
as it is ; for if it should suffer wreck now, there
will be no pilot ever needed for another voyage.
Gentlemen, I have already spoken longer than
I intended, and must beg leave to stop here.
The Teachings of Independence Hall.
Reply to the Mayor of Philadelphia, Pa.
February 21, 1861.
Mr. Mayor and Fellow-citizens of Phila-
delphia: I appear before you to make no lengthy
speech, but to thank you for this reception. The
reception you have given me to-night is not to
me, the man, the individual, but to the man who
temporarily represents, or should represent, the
majesty of the nation. It is true, as your worthy
mayor has said, that there is great anxiety
amongst the citizens of the United States at this
time. I deem it a happy circumstance that this
dissatisfied portion of our fellow-citizens does not
point us to anything in which they are being
injured or about to be injured; for which reason
I have felt all the while justified in concluding
that the crisis, the panic, the anxiety of the coun-
try at this time, is artificial. If there be those
who differ with me upon this subject, they have
120 SPEECHES .[Feb. 22
not pointed out the substantial difficulty that ex-
ists. I do not mean to say that an artificial panic
may not do considerable harm; that it has done
such I do not deny. The hope that has been
expressed by your mayor, that I may be able to
restore peace, harmony, and prosperity to the
country, is most worthy of him ; and most happy,
indeed, will I be if I shall be able to verify and
fulfil that hope. I promise you that I bring to
the work a sincere heart. Whether I will bring a
head equal to that heart will be for future times
to determine. It were useless for me to speak of
details of plans now ; I shall speak officially next
Monday week, if ever. If I should not speak
then, it were useless for me to do so now. If I
do speak then, it is useless for me to do so now.
When I do speak, I shall take such ground as I
deem best calculated to restore peace, harmony,
and prosperity to the country, and tend to the
perpetuity of the nation and the liberty of these
States and these people. Your worthy mayor
has expressed the wish, in which I join with him,
that it were convenient for me to remain in your
city long enough to consult your merchants and
manufacturers; or, as it were, to listen to those
breathings rising within the consecrated walls
wherein the Constitution of the United States,
and, I will add, the Declaration of Independence,
were originally framed and adopted. I assure
you and your mayor that I had hoped on this oc-
casion, and upon all occasions during my life,
that I shall do nothing inconsistent with the
teachings of these holy and most sacred walls.
I have never asked anything that does not breathe
from those walls. All my political warfare has
been in favor of the teachings that come forth
i86i] AT PHILADELPHIA 121
from these sacred walls. May my right hand for-
get its cunning and. my tongue cleave to the roof
of my mouth if ever I prove false to those teach-
ings. Fellow-citizens, I have addressed you
longer than I expected to do, and now allow me
to bid you good-night.
The Declaration of Independence: Not for
One Age and Country Only, but for All
Time and the Whole World.
Address in Independence Hall, Phila-
delphia. February 22, 1861.
Mr. Cuyler: I am rilled with deep emotion at
finding myself standing in this place, where were
collected together the wisdom, the patriotism,
the devotion to principle, from which sprang the
institutions under which we live. You have
kindly suggested to me that in my hands is the
task of restoring peace to our distracted country.
I can say in return, sir, that all the political senti-
ments I entertain have been drawn, so far as I
have been able to draw them, from the senti-
ments which originated in and were given to the
world from this hall. I have never had a feeling
politically, that did not spring from the senti-
ments embodied in the Declaration of Independ-
ence. I have often pondered over the dangers
which were incurred by the men who assembled
here and framed and adopted that Declaration.
I have pondered over the toils that were
endured by the officers and soldiers of the
army who achieved that independence. I have
often inquired of myself what great principle or
idea it was that kept this Confederacy so long
I22 SPEECHES [Feb. 22
together. It was not the mere matter of sepa-
ration of the colonies from the motherland, but
that sentiment in the Declaration of Independ-
ence which gave liberty not alone to the people
of this country, but hope to all the world, for all
future time. It was that which gave promise
that in due time the weights would be lifted
from the shoulders of all men, and that all should
have an equal chance. This is the sentiment
embodied in the Declaration of Independence.
Now, my friends, can this country be saved on
that basis? If it can, I will consider myself one
of the happiest men in the world if I can help to
save it. If it cannot be saved upon that principle,
it will be truly awful. But if this country can-
not be saved without giving up that principle, I
was about to say I would rather be assassinated
on this spot than surrender it. Now, in my view
of the present aspect of affairs, there is no need
of bloodshed and war. There is no necessity for
it. I am not in favor of such a course ; and I may
say in advance that there will be no bloodshed
unless it is forced upon the government. The
government will not use force, unless force is
used against it.
My friends, this is wholly an unprepared
speech. I did not expect to be called on to say a
word when I came here. I supposed I was
merely to do something toward raising a flag. I
may, therefore, have said something indiscreet.
[Cries of "No, no."] But I have said nothing
but what I am willing to live by, and, if it be the
pleasure of Almighty God, to die by.
i86i] AT PHILADELPHIA 123
New Stars for the Flag.
Address on Raising a Flag over Independ-
ence Hall, Philadelphia. February 22,
1861.
Fellow-citizens: I am invited and called before
you to participate in raising above Independence
Hall the flag of our country, with an additional
star upon it.* I propose now, in advance of per-
forming this very pleasant and complimentary
duty, to say a few words. I propose to say that
when the flag was originally raised here, it had
but thirteen stars. I wish to call your attention
to the fact that, under the blessing of God, each
additional star added to that flag has given addi-
tional prosperity and happiness to this country,
until it has advanced to its present condition;
and its welfare in the future, as well as in the
past, is in your hands. Cultivating the spirit that
animated our fathers, who gave renown and
celebrity to this hall, cherishing that fraternal
feeling which has so long characterized us as a
nation, excluding passion, ill temper, and precipi-
tate action on all occasions, I think we may
promise ourselves that not only the new star
placed upon that flag shall be permitted to re-
main there to our permanent prosperity for years
to come, but additional ones shall from time to
time be placed there until we shall number, as it
was anticipated by the great historian, five hun-
dred millions of happy and prosperous people.
With these few remarks I proceed to the very
agreeable duty assigned to me.
* Kansas, admitted into the Union, January 29, 1861.
124 SPEECHES IFeb. 22
A Friend of Peace.
Reply to Governor Curtin of Pennsylvania,
at Harrisburg. February 22, 1861.
Governor Curtin and Citizens of the State of
Pennsylvania: Perhaps the best thing that I
could do would be simply to indorse the patriotic
and eloquent speech which your governor has
just made in your hearing. I am quite sure that
I am unable to address to you anything so appro-
priate as that which he has uttered.
Reference has been made by him to the distrac-
tion of the public mind at this time and to the
great task that is before me in entering upon the
administration of the General Government.
With all the eloquence and ability that your gov-
ernor brings to this theme, I am quite sure he
does not — in his situation he cannot — appreciate
as I do the weight of that great responsibility.
I feel that, under God, in the strength of the
arms and wisdom of the heads of these masses,
after all, must be my support. As I have often
had occasion to say, I repeat to you — I am quite
sure I do not deceive myself when I tell you I
bring to the work an honest heart ; I dare not tell
you that I bring a head sufficient for it. If my
own strength should fail, I shall at least fall back
upon these masses, who, I think, under any cir-
cumstances will not fail.
Allusion has been made to the peaceful prin-
ciples upon which this great commonwealth was
originally settled. Allow me to add my meed of
praise to those peaceful principles. I hope no
one of the Friends who originally settled here,
or who lived here since that time, or who lives
here now, has been or is a more devoted lover of
1861] TO PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE 125
peace, harmony, and concord than my humble
self.
While I have been proud to see to-day the
finest military array, I think, that I have ever
seen, allow me to say, in regard to those men,
that they give hope of what may be done when
war is inevitable. But, at the same time, allow
me to express the hope that in the shedding of
blood their services may never be needed, espe-
cially in the shedding of fraternal blood. It shall
be my endeavor to preserve the peace of this
country so far as it can possibly be done con-
sistently with the maintenance of the institutions
of the country. With my consent, or without my
great displeasure, this country shall never wit-
ness the shedding of one drop of blood in fra-
ternal strife.
And now, my fellow-citizens, as I have made
many speeches, will you allow me to bid you
forewell ?
In the Hands of the People.
Address to the Legislature of Pennsyl-
vania, at Harrisburg. February 22,
1861.
Mr. Speaker of the Senate, and also Mr.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
Gentlemen of the General Assembly of the State
of Pennsylvania: I appear before you only for
a very few brief remarks in response to what
has been said to me. I thank you most sincerely
for this reception, and the generous words in
which support has been promised me upon this
occasion. I thank your great commonwealth for
126 SPEECHES [Feb. 22
the overwhelming support it recently gave, not
me personally, but the cause which I think a just
one, in the late election.
Allusion has been made to the fact — the in-
teresting fact perhaps we should say — that I for
the first time appear at the capital of the great
commonwealth of Pennsylvania upon the birth-
day of the Father of his Country. In connection
with that beloved anniversary connected with the
history of this country, I have already gone
through one exceedingly interesting scene this
morning in the ceremonies at Philadelphia.
Under the kind conduct of gentlemen there, I
was for the first time allowed the privilege of
standing in old Independence Hall to have a few
words addressed to me there, and opening up to
me an opportunity of manifesting my deep regret
that I had not more time to express something of
my own feelings excited by the occasion, that
had been really the feelings of my whole
life.
Besides this, our friends there had provided
a magnificent flag of the country. They had ar-
ranged it so that I was given the honor of raising
it to the head of its staff, and when it went up I
was pleased that it went to its place by the
strength of my own feeble arm. When, accord-
ing to the arrangement, the cord was pulled, and
it floated gloriously to the wind, without an acci-
dent, in the bright, glowing sunshine of the
morning, I could not help hoping that there was
in the entire success of that beautiful ceremony
at least something of an omen of what is to come.
Nor could I help feeling then, as I have often
felt, that in the whole of that proceeding I was
a very humble instrument. I had not provided
i86i] TO PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE 127
the flag; I had not made the arrangements for
elevating it to its place ; I had applied but a very
small portion of even my feeble strength in rais-
ing it. In the whole transaction I was in the
hands of the people who had arranged it, and if
I can have the same generous cooperation of the
people of this nation, I think the flag of our coun-
try may yet be kept flaunting gloriously.
I recur for a moment but to repeat some words
uttered at the hotel in regard to what has been
said about the military support which the General
Government may expect from the commonwealth
of Pennsylvania in a proper emergency. To
guard against any possible mistake do I recur to
this. It is not with any pleasure that I contem-
plate the possibility that a necessity may arise in
this country for the use of the military arm.
While I am exceedingly gratified to see the mani-
festation upon your streets of your military force
here, and exceedingly gratified at your promise
to use that force upon a proper emergency —
while I make these acknowledgments I desire to
repeat, in order to preclude any possible mis-
construction, that I do most sincerely hope that
we shall have no use for them ; that it will never
become their duty to shed blood, and most espe-
cially never to shed fraternal blood. I promise
that so far as I may have wisdom to direct, if
so painful a result shall in any wise be brought
about, it shall be through no fault of mine.
Allusion has recently been made by one of
your honored speakers to some remarks recently
made by myself at Pittsburg in regard to what is
supposed to be the especial interest of this great
commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I now wish
only to say in regard to that matter, that the few
128 SPEECHES [Feb. 28
remarks which I uttered on that occasion were
rather carefully worded. I took pains that they
should be so. I have seen no occasion since to
add to them or subtract from them. I leave them
precisely as they stand, adding only now that I am
pleased to have an expression from you, gentle-
men of Pennsylvania, signifying that they are
satisfactory to you.
And now, gentlemen of the General Assembly
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, allow me
again to return to you my most sincere thanks.
Enmity between North and South Due to a
Misunderstanding.
Reply to the Mayor of Washington, D. C
February 27, 1861.
Mr. Mayor: I thank you, and through you the
municipal authorities of this city who accom-
pany you, for this welcome. And as it is the first
time in my life, since the present phase of politics
has presented itself in this country, that I have
said anything publicly within a region of country
where the institution of slavery exists, I will
take this occasion to say that I think very much
of the ill feeling that has existed and still exists
between the people in the section from which I
came and the people here, is dependent upon a
misunderstanding of one another. I therefore
avail myself of this opportunity to assure you,
Mr. Mayor, and all the gentlemen present, that I
have not now, and never have had, any other
than as kindly feelings toward you as to the
people of my own section. I have not now, and
never have had, any disposition to treat you
i86i] REPLY TO SERENADE 129
in any respect otherwise than as my own
neighbors. I have not now any purpose to
withhold from you any of the benefits of the
Constitution, under any circumstances, that I
would not feel myself constrained to withhold
from my own neighbors ; and I hope, in a word,
that when we shall become better acquainted —
and I say it with great confidence — we shall like
each other better. I thank you for the kindness
of this reception.
President of the Whole Country.
Reply to a Serenade at Washington, D. C.
February 28, 1861.
My Friends: I suppose that I may take this as
a compliment paid to me, and as such please ac-
cept my thanks for it. I have reached this city
of Washington under circumstances considerably
differing from those under which any other man
has ever reached it. I am here for the purpose
of taking an official position amongst the people,
almost all of whom were politically opposed to
me, and are yet opposed to me, as I suppose.
I propose no lengthy address to you. I only
propose to say, as I did on yesterday, when your
worthy mayor and board of aldermen called
upon me, that I thought much of the ill feeling
that has existed between you and the people of
your surroundings and that people from among
whom I came, has depended, and now depends,
upon a misunderstanding.
I hope that, if things shall go along as prosper-
ously as I believe we all desire they may, I may
have it in my power to remove something of this
i3°
SPEECHES
misunderstanding; that I may be enabled to con-
vince you, and the people of your section of the
country, that we regard you as in all things our
equals, and in all things entitled to the same re-
spect and the same treatment that we claim for
ourselves; that we are in no wise disposed, if it
were in our power, to oppress you, to deprive
you of any of your rights under the Constitution
of the United States, or even narrowly to split
hairs with you in regard to these rights, but are
determined to give you, as far as lies in our
hands, all your rights under the Constitution —
not grudgingly, but fully and fairly. I hope
that, by thus dealing with you, we will become
better acquainted, and be better friends.
And now, my friends, with these few remarks,
and again returning my thanks for this compli-
ment, and expressing my desire to hear a little
more of your good music, I bid you good-night.
Presidential Addresses
March 4, i86i,to April ii, 1865
Presidential Addresses
First Inaugural Address.*
Delivered at Washington, D. C. March 4,
1861.
Fellow-citizens of the United States: In com-
pliance with a custom as old as the government
itself, I appear before you to address you briefly,
and to take in your presence the oath prescribed
by the Constitution of the United States to be
taken by the President "before he enters on the
execution of his office."
* Lincoln wrote and privately printed a tentative draft of
the message while at Springfield, 111. On his way
to Washington he gave a copy to his friend O. H. Brown-
ing, at Indianapolis, who suggested that the statement
therein that Lincoln would "reclaim" the Federal prop-
erty in the hand of the secessionists should be omitted,
as subject to construction as a threat, and as such un-
necessarily aggravating to the South. This suggestion the
President adopted. On arriving at Washington, Mr. Lin-
coln gave a copy of the draft to Mr. Seward, his appointee
as Secretary of State. Mr. Seward suggested two im-
portant changes, one that was virtually Mr. Browning's
emendation, and the other, the omission of a statement that
the President would follow the principles of the Repub-
lican platform. Referring to the latter, he reminded Lin-
coln that Jefferson, at a similar crisis when the opposing
party sought to dismember the Government, "sank the
partisan in the patriot in his inaugural address, and
propitiated his adversaries by declaring : 'We are all
Federalists, all Republicans.' " Most of Seward's other
suggestions related to improvements in rhetoric. His
"general remarks" were as follows :
"The argument is strong and conclusive, and ought
not to be in any way abridged or modified.
"But something besides or in addition to argument is
133
134 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 4
I do not consider it necessary at present for
me to discuss those matters of administration
about which there is no special anxiety or excite-
ment.
Apprehension seems to exist among the people
of the Southern States that by the accession of
a Republican administration their property and
their peace and personal security are to be en-
dangered. There has never been any reasonable
cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most
ample evidence to the contrary has all the while
existed and been open to their inspection. It is
found in nearly all the published speeches of him
who now addresses you. I do but quote from
one of those speeches when I declare that "I
have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to inter-
needful to meet and remove prejudice and passion in the
South, and despondency in the East.
"Some words of affection — some of calm and cheerful
confidence."
Mr. Seward submitted two paragraphs of his own, as
suggestions for closing the speech in a conciliatory and
cheerful manner. The second was in that poetic vein
which occasionally cropped out in Seward s speeches
and writings, and over which Lincoln on better acquaint-
ance was wont good-naturedly to rally him. Seward
wrote :
"I close. We are not, we must not be, aliens or enemies,
but fellow-countrymen and brethren. Although passion
has strained our bonds of affection too hardly, they
must not. I am sure they will not, be broken. The mystic
chords which, proceeding from so many battlefields and
so many patriot graves, pass through all the hearts and
all hearths in this broad continent of ours, will yet again
harmonize in their ancient music when breathed upon by
the guardian angel of the nation."
Lincoln took this paragraph, and by deft touches which
reveal a literary taste beyond that of any statesman of
his time, transformed it into his peroration. More than
anything else in the address, it was the tender spirit and
chaste beauty of these closing words that convinced the
people that Lincoln measured up to the high mental
stature demanded of one who was to be their leader
during the most critical period of the life of the nation.
i86i] FIRST INAUGURAL
135
fere with the institution of slavery in the States
where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right
to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."
Those who nominated and elected me did so
with full knowledge that I had made this and
many similar declarations, and had never re-
canted them. And, more than this, they placed
in the platform for my acceptance, and as a law
to themselves and to me, the clear and emphatic
resolution which I now read :
Resolved, That the maintenance inviolate of the rights
of the States, and especially the right of each State to
order and control its own domestic institutions accord-
ing to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that
balance of power on which the perfection and en-
durance of our political fabric depend, and we denounce
the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any
State or Territory, no matter under what pretext, as
among the gravest of crimes.
I now reiterate these sentiments ; and, in doing
so, I only press upon the public attention the
most conclusive evidence of which the case is
susceptible, that the property, peace, and security
of no section are to be in any wise endangered
by the now incoming administration. I add, too,
that all the protection which, consistently with
the Constitution and the laws, can be given, will
be cheerfully given to all the States when law-
fully demanded, for whatever cause — as cheer-
fully to one section as to another.
There is much controversy about the deliver-
ing up of fugitives from service or labor. The
clause I now read is as plainly written in the
Constitution as any other of its provisions :
No person held to service or labor in one State, under
the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall in con-
136 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 4
sequence of any law or regulation therein be discharged
from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on
claim of the party to whom such service or labor may
be due.
It is scarcely questioned that this provision
was intended by those who made it for the re-
claiming of what we call fugitive slaves ; and the
intention of the lawgiver is the law. All mem-
bers of Congress swear their support to the
whole Constitution — to this provision as much
as to any other. To the proposition, then, that
slaves whose cases come within the terms of this
clause "shall be delivered up," their oaths are
unanimous. Now, if they would make the effort
in good temper, could they not with nearly equal
unanimity frame and pass a law by means of
which to keep good that unanimous oath?
There is some difference of opinion whether
this clause should be enforced by national or by
State authority; but surely that difference is
not a very material one. If the slave is to be
surrendered, it can be of but little consequence
to him or to others by which authority it is done.
And should anyone in any case be content that
his oath shall go unkept on a merely unsubstan-
tial controversy as to how it shall be kept ?
Again, in any law upon this subject, ought not
all the safeguards of liberty known in civilized
and humane jurisprudence to be introduced, so
that a free man be not, in any case, surrendered
as a slave ? And might it not be well at the same
time to provide by law for the enforcement of
that clause in the Constitution which guarantees
that "the citizen of each State shall be entitled to
all privileges and immunities of citizens in the
several States."
1861] FIRST INAUGURAL
137
I take the official oath to-day with no mental
reservations, and with no purpose to construe
the Constitution or laws by any hypercritical
rules. And while I do not choose now to specify
particular acts of Congress as proper to be en-
forced, I do suggest that it will be much safer
for all, both in official and private stations, to
conform to and abide by all those acts which
stand unrepealed, than to violate any of them,
trusting to find impunity in having them held
to be unconstitutional.
It is seventy-two years since the first inaugura-
tion of a President under our National Constitu-
tion. During that period fifteen different and
greatly distinguished citizens have, in succession,
administered the executive branch of the govern-
ment. They have conducted it through many
perils, and generally with great success. Yet,
with all this scope of precedent, I now enter upon
the same task for the brief constitutional term of
four years under great and peculiar difficulty.
A disruption of the Federal Union, heretofore
only menaced, is now formidably attempted.
I hold that, in contemplation of universal law
and of the Constitution, the Union of these
States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not
expressed, in the fundamental law of all national
governments. It is safe to assert that no govern-
ment proper ever had a provision in its organic
law for its own termination. Continue to exe-
cute all the express provisions of our National
Constitution, and the Union will endure forever
— it being impossible to destroy it except by some
action not provided for in the instrument itself.
Again, if the United States be not a govern-
ment proper, but an association of States in the
I38 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 4
nature of contract merely, can it, as a contract,
be peaceably unmade by less than all the parties
who made it? One party to a contract may vio-
late it — break it, so to speak ; but does it not re-
quire all to lawfully rescind it?
Descending from these general principles, we
find the proposition that, in legal contemplation
the Union is perpetual confirmed by the history
of the Union itself. The Union is much older
than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact,
by the Articles of Association in 1774. It was
matured and continued by the Declaration of
Independence in 1776. It was further matured,
and the faith of all the then thirteen States ex-
pressly plighted and engaged that it should be
perpetual, by the Articles of Confederation in
1778. And, finally, in 1787 one of the declared
objects for ordaining and establishing the Con-
stitution was "to form a more perfect Union. "
But if the destruction of the Union by one or
by a part only of the States be lawfully possible,
the Union is less perfect than before the Consti-
tution, having lost the vital element of perpetuity.
It follows from these views that no State upon
its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the
Union ; that resolves and ordinances to that effect
are legally void ; and that acts of violence, within
any State or States, against the authority of the
United States, are insurrectionary or revolution-
ary, according to circumstances.
I therefore consider that, in view of the Con-
stitution and the laws, the Union is unbroken;
and to the extent of my ability I shall take care,
as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon
me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully exe-
cuted in all the States. Doing this I deem to be
i86i] FIRST INAUGURAL 139
only a simple duty on my part ; and I shall per-
form it so far as practicable, unless my rightful
masters, the American people, shall withhold the
requisite means, or in some authoritative manner
direct the contrary. I trust this will not be re-
garded as a menace, but only as the declared pur-
pose of the Union that it will constitutionally
defend and maintain itself.
In doing this there needs to be no bloodshed
or violence ; and there shall be none, unless it be
forced upon the national authority. The power
confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and
possess the property and places belonging to the
government, and to collect the duties and im-
posts; but beyond what may be necessary for
these objects, there will be no invasion, no using
of force against or among the people anywhere.
Where hostility to the United States, in any in-
terior locality, shall be so great and universal as
to prevent competent resident citizens from hold-
ing the Federal offices, there will be no attempt
to force obnoxious strangers among the people
for that object. While the strict legal right may
exist in the government to enforce the exercise
of these offices, the attempt to do so would be so
irritating, and so nearly impracticable withal,
that I deem it better to forego for the time the
uses of such offices.
The mails, unless repelled, will continue to be
furnished in all parts of the Union. So far as
possible, the people everywhere shall have that
sense of perfect security which is most favorable
to calm thought and reflection. The course here
indicated will be followed unless current events
and experience shall show a modification or
change to be proper, and w every case and exi-
i4o PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 4
gency my best discretion will be exercised accord-
ing to circumstances actually existing, and with
a view and a hope of a peaceful solution of the
national troubles and the restoration of fraternal
sympathies and affections.
That there are persons in one section or an-
other who seek to destroy the Union at all events,
and are glad of any pretext to do it, I will neither
affirm nor deny; but if there be such, I need
address no word to them. To those, however,
who really love the Union may I not speak?
Before entering upon so grave a matter as the
destruction of our national fabric, with all its
benefits, its memories, and its hopes, would it
not be wise to ascertain precisely why we do it ?
Will you hazard so desperate a step while there
is any possibility that any portion of the ills you
fly from have no real existence? Will you,
while the certain ills you fly to are greater than
all the real ones you fly from — will you risk the
commission of so fearful a mistake?
All profess to be content in the Union if all
constitutional rights can be maintained. Is it
true, then, that any right, plainly written in the
Constitution, has been denied? I think not.
Happily the human mind is so constituted that no
party can reach to the audacity of doing this.
Think, if you can, of a single instance in which
a plainly written provision of the Constitution
has ever been denied. If by the mere force of
numbers a majority should deprive a minority of
any clearly written constitutional right, it might,
in a moral point of view, justify revolution — cer-
tainly would if such a right were a vital one.
But such is not our case. All the vital rights of
minorities and of individuals are so plainly as-
i86i] FIRST INAUGURAL
141
sured to them by affirmations and negations,
guarantees and prohibitions, in the Constitution,
that controversies never arise concerning them.
But no organic law can ever be framed with a
provision specifically applicable to every ques-
tion which may occur in practical administration.
No foresight can anticipate, nor any document
of reasonable length contain, express provisions
for all possible questions. Shall fugitives from
labor be surrendered by national or by State
authority? The Constitution does not expressly
say. May Congress prohibit slavery in the Ter-
ritories? The Constitution does not expressly
say. Must Congress protect slavery in the Terri-
tories? The Constitution does not expressly
say.
From questions of this class spring all our
constitutional controversies, and we divide upon
them into majorities and minorities. If the mi-
nority will not acquiesce, the majority must, or
the government must cease. There is no other
alternative; for continuing the government is
acquiescence on one side or the other.
If a minority in such case will secede rather
than acquiesce, they make a precedent which in
turn will divide and ruin them ; for a minority of
their own will secede from them whenever a
majority refuses to be controlled by such minor-
ity. For instance, why may not any portion of a
new confederacy a year or two hence arbitrarily
secede again, precisely as portions of the present
Union now claim to secede from it? All who
cherish disunion sentiments are now being edu-
cated to the exact temper of doing this.
Is there such perfect identity of interests
among the States to compose a new Union, as to
i42 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 4
produce harmony only, and prevent renewed
secession r
Plainly, the central idea of secession is the
essence of anarchy. A majority held in restraint
by constitutional checks and limitations, and al-
ways changing easily with deliberate changes of
popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true
sovereign of a free people. Whoever rejects it
does, of necessity, fly to anarchy or to despotism.
Unanimity is impossible; the rule of a minority,
as a permanent arrangement, is wholly inadmis-
sible; so that, rejecting the majority principle,
anarchy or despotism in some form is all that
is left.
I do not forget the position, assumed by some,
that constitutional questions are to be decided
by the Supreme Court ; nor do I deny that such
decisions must be binding, in any case, upon the
parties to a suit, as to the object of that suit,
while they are also entitled to very high respect
and consideration in all parallel cases by all other
departments of the government. And while it is
obviously possible that such decision may be
erroneous in any given case, still the evil effect
following it, being limited to that particular case,
with the chance that it may be overruled and
never become a precedent for other cases, can
better be borne than could the evils of a different
practice. At the same time, the candid citizen
must confess that if the policy of the government,
upon vital questions affecting the whole people,
is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the
Supreme Court, the instant they are made, in
ordinary litigation between parties in personal
actions, the people will have ceased to be their
own rulers, having to that extent practically
i86i] FIRST INAUGURAL 143
resigned their government into the hands of that
eminent tribunal. Nor is there in this view any-
assault upon the court or the judges. It is a
duty from which they may not shrink to decide
cases properly brought before them, and it is no
fault of theirs if others seek to turn their deci-
sions to political purposes.
One section of our country believes slavery is
right, and ought to be extended, while the other
believes it is wrong, and ought not to be extended.
This is the only substantial dispute. The fugi-
tive-slave clause of the Constitution, and the law
for the suppression of the foreign slave-trade,
are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law
can ever be in a community where the moral
sense of the people imperfectly supports the law
itself. The great body of the people abide by
the dry legal obligation in both cases, and a few
break over in each. This, I think, cannot be per-
fectly cured ; and it would be worse in both cases
after the separation of the sections than before.
The foreign slave-trade, now imperfectly sup-
pressed, would be ultimately revived, without
restriction, in one section, while fugitive slaves,
now only partially surrendered, would not be
surrendered at all by the other.
Physically speaking, we cannot separate. We
cannot remove our respective sections from each
other, nor build an impassable wall between
them. A husband and wife may be divorced,
and go out of the presence and beyond the reach
of each other ; but the different parts of our coun-
try cannot do this. They cannot but remain face
to face, and intercourse, either amicable or hos-
tile, must continue between them. Is it possible,
then, to make that intercourse more advantageous
i44 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Alar. 4
or more satisfactory after separation than be-
fore? Can aliens make treaties easier than
friends can make laws? Can treaties be more
faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can
among friends? Suppose you go to war, you
cannot fight always; and when, after much loss
on both sides, and no gain on either, you cease
fighting, the identical old questions as to terms of
intercourse are again upon you.
This country, with its institutions, belongs
to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they
shall grow weary of the existing government,
they can exercise their constitutional right of
amending it, or their revolutionary right to dis-
member or overthrow it. I cannot be ignorant of
the fact that many worthy and patriotic citizens
are desirous of having the National Constitution
amended. While I make no recommendation of
amendments, I fully recognize the rightful au-
thority of the people over the whole subject, to be
exercised in either of the modes prescribed in the
instrument itself; and I should, under existing
circumstances, favor rather than oppose a fair
opportunity being afforded the people to act upon
it. I will venture to add that to me the conven-
tion mode seems preferable, in that it allows
amendments to originate with the people them-
selves, instead of only permitting them to take
or reject propositions originated by others not
especially chosen for the purpose, and which
might not be precisely such as they would wish
to either accept or refuse. I understand a pro-
posed amendment to the Constitution — which
amendment, however, I have not seen — has
passed Congress, to the effect that the Federal
Government shall never interfere with the do-
i86i] FIRST INAUGURAL 145
mestic institutions of the States, including that
of persons held to service. To avoid misconstruc-
tion of what I have said, I depart from my pur-
pose not to speak of particular amendments so
far as to say that, holding such a provision to
now be implied constitutional law, I have no
objection to its being made express and irrev-
ocable.
The chief magistrate derives all his authority
from the people, and they have conferred none
upon him to fix terms for the separation of the
States. The people themselves can do this also
if they choose ; but the executive, as such, has
nothing to do with it. His duty is to administer
the present government, as it came to his hands,
and to transmit it, unimpaired by him, to his suc-
cessor.
Why should there not be a patient confidence
in the ultimate justice of the people? Is there
any better or equal hope in the world? In our
present differences is either party without faith
of being in the right? If the Almighty Ruler of
Nations, with his eternal truth and justice, be
on your side of the North, or on yours of the
South, that truth and that justice will surely
prevail by the judgment of this great tribunal of
the American people.
By the frame of the government under which
we live, this same people have wisely given their
public servants but little power for mischief ; and
have, with equal wisdom, provided for the return
of that little to their own hands at very short
intervals. While the people retain their virtue
and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme
of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure
the government in the short space of four years.
t46 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 5
My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and
well upon this whole subject. Nothing valuable
can be lost by taking time. If there be an object
to hurry any of you in hot haste to a step which
you would never take deliberately, that object
will be frustrated by taking time; but no good
object can be frustrated by it. Such of you as
are now dissatisfied, still have the old Constitu-
tion unimpaired, and, on the sensitive point, the
laws of your own framing under it; while the
new administration will have no immediate
power, if it would, to change either. If it were
admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the
right side in the dispute, there still is no single
good reason for precipitate action. Intelligence,
patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on
Him who has never yet forsaken this favored
land, are still competent to adjust in the best way
all our present difficulty.
In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-country-
men, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of
civil war. The government will not assail you.
You can have no conflict without being yourselves
the aggressors. You have no oath registered in
heaven to destroy the government, while I shall
have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect,
and defend it."
I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but
friends. We must not be enemies. Though pas-
sion may have strained, it must not break our
bonds of affection. The mystic chords of mem-
ory, stretching from every battle-field and patriot
grave to every living heart and hearthstone all
over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of
the Union when again touched, as surely they
will be, by the better angels of our nature.
i86i] TO STATE DELEGATIONS 147
Remarks upon Sectionalism to Pennsylvania
and Massachusetts Delegations.
On March 5, 1861, two delegations one of citizens
of Pennsylvania, and one of citizens of Massachusetts
called upon President Lincoln with assurances oi
popular support. His responses were as follows:
To the Pennsylvania Delegation.
Allusion has been made to the hope that you
entertain that you have a President and a gov-
ernment. In respect to that I wish to say to you
that in the position I have assumed I wish to do
more than I have ever given reason to believe I
would do. I do not wish you to believe that I
assume to be any better than others who have
gone before me. I prefer rather to have it
understood that, if we ever have a government
on the principles we profess, we should remem-
ber while we exercise our opinion, that others
have also rights to the exercise of their opinions,
and that we should endeavor to allow these
rights, and act in such a manner as to create no
bad feeling. I hope we have a government and
a President. I hope, and wish it to be under-
stood, that there may be no allusion to unpleasant
differences. *
We must remember that the people ot all trie
States are entitled to all the privileges and im-
munities of the citizens of the several States.
We should bear this in mind, and act in such a
way as to say nothing insulting and irritating.
I would inculcate this idea, so that we may not,
like Pharisees, set ourselves up to be better than
other people.
148 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Apr. 13
To the Massachusetts Delegation.
I am thankful for this renewed assurance of
kind feeling and confidence, and the support of
the old Bay State, in so far as you, Mr. Chairman,
have expressed, in behalf of those whom you
represent, your sanction of what I have enunci-
ated in my inaugural address. This is very grate-
ful to my feelings. The object was one of great
delicacy, in presenting views at the opening of
an administration under the peculiar circum-
stances attending my entrance upon the official
duties connected with the government. I studied
all the points with great anxiety, and presented
them with whatever of ability and sense of jus-
tice I could bring to bear. That it met the ap-
probation of our good friends in Massachusetts,
I am exceedingly gratified, and I hope it will
meet the approbation of friends everywhere. I
am thankful for the expressions of those who
have voted with us ; and, like every man of you,
I like them as certainly as I do others. As the
President in the administration of the govern-
ment, I hope to be man enough not to know one
citizen of the United States from another, or one
section from another. I shall be gratified to
have good friends of Massachusetts and others
who have thus far supported me in these national
views still to support me in carrying them out.
Remarks on Executive Policy to a Committee
from the Virginia Convention.
On April 13, 1861, William Ballard Preston, Alex-
ander H. H. Stuart, and George W. Randolph waited
on President Lincoln as a committee from the Vir-
i86i] TO VIRGINIA COMMITTEE 149
ginia Convention, and presented the request of the
Convention (authorized April 8, 1861) that he com-
municate to it "the policy which the Federal Execu-
tive intends to pursue in regard to the Confederate
States." The President replied:
In answer I have to say that,, having at the
beginning of my official term expressed my in-
tended policy as plainly as I was able, it is with
deep regret and some mortification I now learn
that there is great and injurious uncertainty in
the public mind as to what that policy is, and
what course I intend to pursue. Not having as
yet seen occasion to change, it is now my pur-
pose to pursue the course marked out in the in-
augural address. I commend a careful consider-
ation of the whole document as the best expres-
sion I can give of my purposes.
As I then and therein said, I now repeat : "The
power confided to me will be used to hold, oc-
cupy, and possess the property and places be-
longing to the government, and to collect the
duties and imposts ; but beyond what is necessary
for these objects, there will be no invasion, no
using of force against or among the people any-
where." By the words "property and places be-
longing to the government/' I chiefly allude to
the military posts and property which were in the
possession of the government when it came to
my hands.
But if, as now appears to be true, in pursuit of
a purpose to drive the United States authority
from these places, an unprovoked assault has
been made upon Fort Sumter, I shall hold myself
at liberty to repossess, if I can, like places which
had been seized before the government was de-
volved upon me. And in every event I shall, to
150 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 10
the extent of my ability, repel force by force.
In case it proves true that Fort Sumter has been
assaulted, as is reported, I shall perhaps cause
the United States mails to be withdrawn from
all the States which claim to have seceded, be-
lieving that the commencement of actual war
against the government justifies and possibly
demands this.
I scarcely need to say that I consider the mili-
tary posts and property situated within the States
which claim to have seceded as yet belonging to
the government of the United States as much as
they did before the supposed secession.
Whatever else I may do for the purpose, I
shall not attempt to collect the duties and im-
posts by any armed invasion of any part of the
country; not meaning by this, however, that I
may not land a force deemed necessary to relieve
a fort upon a border of the country.
From the fact that I have quoted a part of the
inaugural address, it must not be inferred that I
repudiate any other part, the whole of which I
reaffirm, except so far as what I now say of the
mails may be regarded as a modification.
Conference on Compensated Emancipation
with Border State Delegations.
On March 10, 1862, delegations from the border
slave States of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Ken-
tucky, and Missouri waited on President Lincoln in
response to his request for a conference upon com-
pensated emancipation, the subject of his recent mes-
sage to Congress (see Message to Congress, March 6,
1862).
At the close of the conference the Hon. J. W. Cris-
field, a delegate from Maryland, retired to his room and
wrote out his recollections of what had taken place.
i862] TO BORDER STATE DELEGATES 151
The accuracy of his report was attested by three
other delegates. With some slight editing of the form,
though not the substance of his statements, Mr. Cris-
field's account is as follows :
The President said that, since he had sent in
his message of the 6th, several of the gentlemen
present had visited him, but had avoided any
allusion to the message, and he therefore inferred
that its import had been misunderstood, and was
regarded as inimical to the interests we repre-
sented ; and therefore he had resolved to talk with
us, and disabuse our minds of that erroneous
opinion.
He disclaimed any intent to injure the interests
or wound the sensibilities of the slave States.
On the contrary, he declared that his purpose
was to protect the one and respect the other.
We were, he said, engaged in a terrible, wasting,
and tedious war; immense armies were in the
field, and must continue there as long as the war
should last; these armies came of necessity, into
contact with slaves in the States we represented,
and, as they advanced, would be brought into con-
tact with the slaves of other States. Slaves came,
and would continue to come to the camps, thus
keeping up continual irritation. He was con-
stantly annoyed by conflicting and antagonistic
complaints. On the one side a certain class com-
plained if the slave was not protected by the
army; persons were frequently found who, par-
ticipating in these views, acted in a way un-
friendly to the slaveholder. On the other hand,
slaveholders complained that their rights were
interfered with, their slaves were induced to
abscond and were protected within the lines.
These complaints were numerous, loud, and deep.
i5 2 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 10
They were a serious annoyance to him, and em-
barrassing to the progress of the war. They
kept alive a spirit hostile to the government in the
States we represented; they strengthened the
hopes of the Confederates that at some day the
border States would unite with them, and thus
tend to prolong the war ; and he was of opinion,
if this resolution should be adopted by Congress
and accepted by our States, that these causes of
irritation and these hopes would be removed, and
more would be accomplished toward shortening
the war than could be hoped from the greatest
victory achieved by Union armies. He made this
proposition in good faith, and desired it to be
accepted, if at all, voluntarily, and in the same
patriotic spirit in which it was made. Emanci-
pation was a subject exclusively under the con-
trol of the States, and must be adopted or re-
jected by each for itself; he did not claim nor
had this government any right to coerce them for
that purpose. He wished it to be clearly under-
stood that such was no part of his purpose in
making this proposition. He did not expect us
to be prepared then and there to give him an
answer, but he hoped we would take the subject
into serious consideration, confer with one an-
other, and then take such course as we felt our
duty and the interests of our constituents re-
quired.
Mr. Noell, of Missouri, said that in his State slavery-
was not considered a permanent institution ; that
natural causes were there in operation which would at
no distant day extinguish it, and he did not think that
this proposition was necessary for that. Besides, he
and his friends felt solicitous on account of the different
constructions which the resolution and message had re-
ceived. The New York Tribune was for it, and under-
1862] TO BORDER STATE DELEGATES 153
stood it to mean that we must accept gradual emancipa-
tion according to the plan suggested, or get something
worse.
The President replied that he must not be ex-
pected to quarrel with the New York Tribune
before the right time ; he hoped never to have to
do it — anyway he would not anticipate events.
In respect to emancipation in Missouri, he said
that what had been observed by Mr. Noell was
probably true, but the operation of these natural
causes had not prevented the irritating conduct
to which he had referred, nor destroyed the hopes
of the Confederates that Missouri would at some
time range herself alongside of them, which pre-
vention and destruction, the passage of this reso-
lution by Congress and its acceptance by Mis-
souri would in his judgment accomplish. -
Mr. Crisfield, of Maryland, asked what would be the
effect of the refusal of the State to accept this proposal,
and desired to know if the President looked to any
policy beyond the acceptance or rejection of this scheme.
The President replied that he had no designs
beyond the action of the States on this particular
subject. He should lament their refusal to accept
it, but he had no designs beyond their refusal of
it.
Mr. Menzies, of Kentucky, inquired if the President
thought there was any power except in the States them-
selves to carry out his scheme of emancipation.
The President replied that he thought there
could not be. He then went off into a course of
remarks not qualifying the foregoing declaration.
These were not recorded since they were imma-
terial to a just understanding of his meaning.
i54 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 10
Mr. Crisfield said he did not think the people of
Maryland looked upon slavery as a permanent institu-
tion ; and he did not know that they would be very
reluctant to give it up if provision was made to meet
the loss and they could be rid of the race ; but they did
not like to be coerced into emancipation, either by the
direct action of the government or by indirection, as
through the emancipation of slaves in the District of
Columbia, or the confiscation now threatened of
Southern property. He thought before the people of
Maryland would consent to consider this proposition
they would require to be informed on these points.
The President replied that, unless he was ex-
pelled by the act of God or the Confederate
armies, he should occupy that house for three
years ; and as long as he remained there Mary-
land had nothing to fear either for her institu-
tions or her interests on the points referred to.
Mr. Crisfield immediately added: Mr. President, if
what you now say could be heard by the people of
Maryland, they would consider your proposition with a
much better feeling than I fear they will be inclined to
do without such public expression on your part.
The President replied that a publication of
what he said would not do; it would force him
into a quarrel before the proper time ; and, again
intimating, as he had before done, that a quarrel
with the "Greeley faction" was impending, he
said he did not wish to encounter it before the
proper time, nor at all if it could be avoided.
Governor Wicklifre, of Kentucky, then asked him
respecting the constitutionality of his scheme.
The President replied : As you may suppose, I
have considered that; and the proposition now
submitted does not encounter any constitutional
difficulty. It proposes simply to cooperate with
i86s] TO BORDER STATE DELEGATES 15^
any State by giving such State pecuniary aid.
He added that he thought the resolution, as pro-
posed by him, would be considered rather as the
expression of a sentiment than as involving any
constitutional question.
Mr. Hall, of Missouri, thought that if this proposition
was adopted at all, it should be by the votes of the free
States, and should come as a proposition from them to
the slave States, affording them an inducement to put
aside this subject of discord; that it ought not to be
expected that members representing slaveholding con-
stituencies should declare at once, and in advance of
any proposition to them, for the emancipation of
slavery.
The President said he saw and felt the force of
the objection; it was a fearful responsibility, and
every gentleman must do as he thought best. He
did not know how this scheme was received by
the members from the free States ; some of them
had spoken to him and received it kindly ; but for
the most part they were as reserved and chary as
we had been, and he could not tell how they
would vote. And in reply to some expression of
Mr. Hall as to his own opinion regarding slavery,
he said that he did not pretend to disguise his
antislavery feeling; he thought slavery was
wrong, and should continue to think so ; but that
was not the question we had to deal with now.
Slavery existed, and that, too, as well by the act
of the North as of the South ; and in any scheme
to get rid of it, the North as well as the South
was morally bound to do its full and equal share.
He thought that the institution was wrong and
that it ought never to have existed; but yet he
recognized the rights of property which had
grown out of it, and he would respect those rights
I56 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [May 15
as fully as similar rights in any other property;
he recognized that property can exist, and does
legally exist in slavery. He thought such a law
wrong, but the rights of property resulting must
be respected; he would get rid of the odious
law, not by violating the right, but by encour-
aging the proposition and offering inducements
to give it up.
Here the interview, so far as this subject is con-
cerned, terminated by Mr. Crittenden's assuring the
President that, whatever might be our final action, we
all thought him solely moved by a high patriotism and
sincere devotion to the happiness and glory of his
country; and with that conviction we should consider
respectfully the important suggestions he had made.
Response to Evangelical Lutherans on De-
pendence upon Divine Guidance.
Early in May, 1862, probably on the 6th day of the
month, the President received a delegation of Evan-
gelican Lutherans, who bore an official message pledg-
ing the support of their church. The President said
in response:
Gentlemen: I welcome here the representa-
tives of the Evangelical Lutherans of the United
States. I accept with gratitude their assurances
of the sympathy and support of that enlightened,
influential, and loyal class of my fellow-citizens
in an important crisis which involves, in my
judgment, not only the civil and religious liber-
ties of our own dear land, but in a large degree
the civil and religious liberties of mankind in
many countries and through many ages. You well
know, gentlemen, and the world knows, how
reluctantly I accepted this issue of battle forced
upon me on my advent to this place by the in-
1862] TO 12TH INDIANA REGIMENT 157
ternal enemies of our country. You all know,
the world knows, the forces and the resources the
public agents have brought into employment to
sustain a government against which there has
been brought not one complaint of real injury
committed against society at home or abroad.
You all may recollect that in taking up the sword
thus forced into our hands, this government
appealed to the prayers of the pious and the good,
and declared that it placed its whole dependence
upon the favor of God. I now humbly and rev-
erently, in your presence, reiterate the acknowl-
edgment of that dependence, not doubting that,
if it shall please the Divine Being who deter-
mines the destinies of nations, this shall remain
a united people, and that they will, humbly seek-
ing the Divine guidance, make their prolonged
national existence a source of new benefits to
themselves and their successors, and to all classes
and conditions of mankind.
Remarks to Twelfth Indiana Regiment on the
Nation's Dependence on the Army.
On May 15, 1862, the New York Evening Post printed
the following report of a speech of President Lincoln
to the Twelfth Indiana Regiment:
It has not been customary heretofore, nor will
it be hereafter, for me to say something to every
regiment passing in review. It ^occurs too fre-
quently for me to have speeches ready on all
occasions. As you have paid such a mark of re-
spect to the chief magistrate, it appears that 1
should say a word or two in reply.
Your colonel has thought fit, on his own ac-
158 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [July 12
count and in your name, to say that you are sat-
isfied with the manner in which I have performed
my part in the difficulties which have surrounded
the nation. For your kind expressions I am ex-
ceedingly grateful, but, on the other hand, I as-
sure you that the nation is more indebted to you
and such as you, than to me. It is upon the brave
hearts and strong arms of the people of the
country that our reliance has been placed in sup-
port of free government and free institutions.
For the part which you and the brave army of
which you are a part have, under Providence,
performed in this great struggle, I tender more
thanks — greatest thanks that can be possibly due
— and especially to this regiment, which has
been the subject of good report. The thanks of
the nation will follow you, and may God's bless-
ing rest upon you now and forever. I hope that
upon your return to your homes you will find
your friends and loved ones well and happy. I
bid you farewell.
Appeal to Border-State Representatives to
Favor Compensated Emancipation.
On July 12, 1862, President Lincoln read to the
Representatives in Congress from the Border States
the following appeal:
Gentlemen: After the adjournment of Con-
gress, now very near, I shall have no opportunity
of seeing you for several months. Believing that
you of the border States hold more power for
good than any other equal number of members,
I feel it a duty which I cannot justifiably waive
to make this appeal to you. I intend no reproach
or complaint when I assure you that, in my opin-
i862] ON COMPENSATED EMANCIPATION 159
ion, if you all had voted for the resolution in the
gradual-emancipation message of last March, the
war would now be substantially ended. And the
plan therein proposed is yet one of the most po-
tent and swift means of ending it. Let the States
which are in rebellion see definitely and certainly
that in no event will the States you represent
ever join their proposed confederacy, and they
cannot much longer maintain the contest. But
you cannot divest them of their hope to ultimately
have you with them so long as you show a deter-
mination to perpetuate the institution within your
own States. Beat them at elections, as you have
overwhelmingly done, and, nothing daunted, they
still claim you as their own. You and I know
what the lever of their power is. Break that
lever before their faces, and they can shake you
no more forever. Most of you have treated me
with kindness and consideration, and I trust you
will not now think I improperly touch what is
exclusively your own, when, for the sake of the
whole country, I ask, Can you, for your States, do
better than to take the course I urge ? Discard-
ing punctilio and maxims adapted to more man-
ageable times, and looking only to the unprece-
dentedly stern facts of our case, can you
do better in any possible event? You prefer
that the constitutional relation of the States to
the nation shall be practically restored without
disturbance of that institution; and if this were
done, my whole duty in this respect, under the
Constitution and my oath of office, would be
performed. But it is not done, and we are trying
to accomplish it by war. The incidents of the
war cannot be avoided. If the war continues
long, as it must if the object be not sooner at-
i6o PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Aug. 6
tained, the institution in your States will be ex-
tinguished by mere friction and abrasion — by the
mere incidents of the war. It will be gone, and
you will have nothing valuable in lieu of it.
Much of its value is gone already. How much
better for you and for your people to take the
step which at once shortens the war and secures
substantial compensation for that which is sure
to be wholly lost in any other event ! How much
better to thus save the money which else we sink
forever in the war! How much better to do it
while we can, lest the war erelong render us
pecuniarily unable to do it ! How much better
for you as seller, and the nation as buyer, to sell
out and buy out that without which the war could
never have been, than to sink both the thing to
be sold and the price of it in cutting one an-
other's throats? I do not speak of emancipation
at once, but of a decision at once to emancipate
gradually. Room in South America for coloniza-
tion can be obtained cheaply and in abundance,
and when numbers shall be large enough to be
company and encouragement for one another,
the freed people will not be so reluctant to go.
I am pressed with a difficulty not yet mentioned
— one which threatens division among those who,
united, are none too strong. An instance of it is
known to you. General Hunter is an honest
man. He was, and I hope still is, my friend.
I valued him none the less for his agreeing with
me in the general wish that all men everywhere
could be free. He proclaimed all men free within
certain States, and I repudiated the proclamation.
He expected more good and less harm from the
measure than I could believe would follow. Yet,
in repudiating it, I gave dissatisfaction, if not
i862] ON McCLELLAN-ST ANTON FEUD 16 1
offense, to many whose support the country can-
not afford to lose. And this is not the end of it.
The pressure in this direction is still upon me,
and is increasing. By conceding what I now
ask, you can relieve me, and, much more,
can relieve the country, in this important point.
Upon these considerations I have again begged
your attention to the message of March last.
Before leaving the capital, consider and discuss
it among yourselves. You are patriots and states-
men, and as such I pray you consider this propo-
sition, and at the least commend it to the consider-
ation of your States and people. As you would
perpetuate popular government for the best
people in the world, I beseech you that you do in
no wise omit this. Our common country is in
great peril, demanding the loftiest views and bold-
est action to bring it speedy relief. Once re-
lieved, its form of government is saved. to the
world, its beloved history and cherished memo-
ries are vindicated, and its happy future fully as-
sured and rendered inconceivably grand. To
you, more than to any others, the privilege is
given to assure that happiness and swell that
grandeur, and to link your own names therewith
forever.
Remarks on the McClellan-Stanton Contro-
versy Made at a Union Meeting in Wash-
ington.
On August 6, 1862, President Lincoln addressed a
Union meeting in Washington on the differences of
opinion that had developed between the Commander of
the Army of the Potomac and the Secretary of War.
Fellow-Citizens: I believe there is no prece-
dent for my appearing before you on this occa-
162 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Aug. 14
sion, but it is also true that there is no precedent
for your being here yourselves ; and I offer, in
justification of myself and of you, that upon
examination I have found nothing in the Con-
stitution against it. I, however, have an impres-
sion that there are younger gentlemen who will
entertain you better, and better address your
understanding, than I will or could; and there-
fore I propose to detain you but a moment
longer.
I am very little inclined on any occasion to say
anything unless I hope to produce some good by
it. The only thing I think of just now not likely
to be better said by some one else, is a matter in
which we have heard some other persons blamed
for what I did myself. There has been a very
widespread attempt to have a quarrel between
General McClellan and the Secretary of War.
Now, I occupy a position that enables me to ob-
serve that these two gentlemen are not nearly so
deep in the quarrel as some pretending to be their
friends. General McClellan's attitude is such
that, in the very selfishness of his nature, he
cannot but wish to be successful, and I hope he
will ; and the Secretary of War is in precisely
the same situation. If the military commanders
in the field cannot be successful, not only the
Secretary of War, but myself, — for the time
being the master of them both, — cannot but be
failures. I know General McClellan wishes to be
successful, and I know he does not wish it any
more than the Secretary of War for him, and
both of them together no more than I wish it.
Sometimes we have a dispute about how many
men General McClellan has had, and those who
would disparage him say that he has had a very
1862] ON NEGRO COLONIZATION 163
large number, and those who would disparage the
Secretary of War insist that General McClellan
has had a very small number. The basis for this
is, there is always a wide difference, and on this
occasion perhaps a wider one than usual, between
the grand total on McClellan's rolls and the men
actually fit for duty; and those who would dis-
parage him talk of the grand total on paper, and
those who would disparage the Secretary of War
talk of those at present fit for duty. General Mc-
Clellan has sometimes asked for things that the
Secretary of War did not give him. General
McClellan is not to blame for asking for what he
wanted and needed, and the Secretary of War is
not to blame for not giving when he had none to
give. And I say here, as far as I know, the Sec-
retary of War has withheld no one thing at any
time in my power to give him. I have no accusa-
tion against him. I believe he is a brave and able
man, and I stand here, as justice requires me to
do, to take upon myself what has been charged on
the Secretary of War, as withholding from him.
I have talked longer than I expected to do, and
now I avail myself of my privilege of saying no
more.
Address to a Deputation of Colored Men on
Colonization.
On August 14, 1862, a committee of colored men
called by invitation upon President Lincoln. He in-
formed them that a sum of money had been appro-
priated by Congress, and placed at his disposition, for
the purpose of aiding the colonization in some country
of the people, or a portion of them, of African descent,
thereby making it his duty, as it had for a long time
been his inclination, to favor that cause. The place the
President had in mind was Vache Island, in the West
164 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Aug. 14
Indies, which the owner, a man named Koch, had un-
loaded on the Government. The experiment of
colonizing it with American freedmen was a disastrous
failure. Inadequately provisioned, without a leader, and
brought face to face with the problems of life in a
strange country, the disheartened colonists fell an easy
prey to sloth and disease. Many died of malaria before
the Government sent a ship to bring the half-starved
and debilitated survivors back to the United States.
The following is a report of the substance of the
President's remarks :
Why should the people of your race be colo-
nized, and where? Why should they leave this
country ? This is, perhaps, the first question for
proper consideration. You and we are different
races. We have between us a broader difference
than exists between almost any other two races.
Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss ;
but this physical difference is a great disadvan-
tage to us both, as I think. Your race suffer
very greatly, many of them, by living among us,
while ours suffer from your presence. In a word,
we suffer on each side. If this is admitted, it
affords a reason, at least, why we should be sepa-
rated. You here are freemen, I suppose?
[A voice: Yes, sir.]
Perhaps you have long been free, or all your
lives. Your race is suffering, in my judgment,
the greatest wrong inflicted on any people. But
even when you cease to be slaves, you are yet far
removed from being placed on an equality with
the white race. You are cut off from many of
the advantages which the other race enjoys. The
aspiration of men is to enjoy equality with the
best when free, but on this broad continent not a
single man of your race is made the equal of a
single man of ours. Go where you are treated
i862] ON NEGRO COLONIZATION 165
the best, and the ban is still upon you. I do not
propose to discuss this, but to present it as a fact
with which we have to deal. I cannot alter it if I
would. It is a fact about which we all think and
feel alike, I and you. We look to our condition.
Owing to the existence of the two races on this
continent, I need not recount to you the effects
upon white men, growing out of the institution of
slavery.
I believe in its general evil effects on the white
race. See our present condition — the country
engaged in war — our white men cutting one an-
other's throats — none knowing how far it will
extend — and then consider what we know to be
the truth. But for your race among us there
could not be war, although many men engaged
on either side do not care for you one way or the
other. Nevertheless, I repeat, without the insti-
tution of slavery, and the colored race as a basis,
the war could not have an existence. It is better
for us both, therefore, to be separated. I know
that there are free men among you who, even if
they could better their condition, are not as much
inclined to go out of the country as those who,
being slaves, could obtain their freedom on this
condition. I suppose one of the principal difficul-
ties in the way of colonization is that the free
colored man cannot see that his comfort would
be advanced by it. You may believe that you can
live in Washington, or elsewhere in the United
States, the remainder of your life as easily, per-
haps more so, than you can in any foreign coun-
try; and hence you may come to the conclusion
that you have nothing to do with the idea of
going to a foreign country.
This is (I speak in no unkind sense) an ex-
166 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Aug. 14
tremely selfish view of the case. You ought to
do something to help those who are not so for-
tunate as yourselves. There is an unwillingness
on the part of our people, harsh as it may be, for
you free colored people to remain with us. Now,
if you could give a start to the white people, you
would open a wide door for many to be made
free. If we deal with those who are not free
at the beginning, and whose intellects are clouded
by slavery, we have very poor material to start
with. If intelligent colored men, such as are be-
fore me, would move in this matter, much might
be accomplished. It is exceedingly important that
we have men at the beginning capable of thinking
as white men, and not those who have been sys-
tematically oppressed. There is much to encour-
age you. For the sake of your race you should
sacrifice something of your present comfort for
the purpose of being as grand in that respect as
the white people. It is a cheering thought
throughout life, that something can be done to
ameliorate the condition of those who have been
subject to the hard usages of the world. It is
difficult to make a man miserable while he feels
he is worthy of himself and claims kindred to the
great God who made him. In the American
Revolutionary war sacrifices were made by men
engaged in it, but they were cheered by the fu-
ture. General Washington himself endured
greater physical hardships than if he had re-
mained a British subject, yet he was a happy
man because he was engaged in benefiting his
race, in doing something for the children of his
neighbors, having none of his own.
The colony of Liberia has been in existence a
long time. In a certain sense it is a success. The
i852] ON NEGRO COLONIZATION 167
old President of Liberia, Roberts, has just been
with me — the first time I ever saw him. He says
they have within the bounds of that colony be-
tween three and four hundred thousand people,
or more than in some of our old States, such as
Rhode Island or Delaware, or in some of our
newer States, and less than in some of our larger
ones. They are not all American colonists or
their descendants. Something less than 12,000
have been sent thither from this country. Many
of the original settlers have died ; yet, like people
elsewhere, their offspring outnumber those de-
ceased. The question is, if the colored people are
persuaded to go anywhere, why not there ?
One reason for unwillingness to do so is that
some of you would rather remain within reach
of the country of your nativity. I do not know
how much attachment you may have toward our
race. It does not strike me that you have the
greatest reason to love them. But still you are
attached to them, at all events.
The place I am thinking about for a colony is
in Central America. It is nearer to us than Li-
beria— not much more than one fourth as far
as Liberia, and within seven days' run by steam-
ers. Unlike Liberia, it is a great line of travel —
it is a highway. The country is a very excellent
one for any people, and with great natural re-
sources and advantages, and especially because
of the similarity of climate with your native soil,
thus being suited to your physical condition. The
particular place I have in view is to be a great
highway from the Atlantic or Caribbean Sea to
the Pacific Ocean, and this particular place has
all the advantages for a colony. On both sides
there are harbors — among the finest in the world.
168 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Aug. 14
Again, there is evidence of very rich coal-mines.
A certain amount of coal is valuable in any coun-
try. Why I attach so much importance to coal
is, it will afford an opportunity to the inhabitants
for immediate employment till they get ready to
settle permanently in their homes. If you take
colonists where there is no good landing, there
is a bad show ; and so where there is nothing to
cultivate and of which to make a farm. But if
something is started so that you can get your
daily bread as soon as you reach there, it is a great
advantage. Coal land is the best thing I know of
with which to commence an enterprise.
To return — you have been talked to upon this
subject, and told that a speculation is intended
by gentlemen who have an interest in the coun-
try, including the coal-mines. We have been
mistaken all our lives if we do not know whites,
as well as blacks, look to their self-interest. Un-
less among those deficient of intellect, everybody
you trade with makes something. You meet with
these things here and everywhere. If such per-
sons have what will be an advantage to them,
the question is, whether it cannot be made of
advantage to you ? You are intelligent, and know
that success does not so much depend on external
help as on self-reliance. Much, therefore, de-
pends upon yourselves. As to the coal-mines, I
think I see the means available for your self-
reliance. I shall, if I get a sufficient number of
you engaged, have provision made that you shall
not be wronged. If you will engage in the enter-
prise, I will spend some of the money intrusted to
me. I am not sure you will succeed. The gov-
ernment may lose the money; but we cannot
succeed unless we try; and we think, with care,
1862] ON NEGRO COLONIZATION 169
we can succeed. The political affairs in Central
America are not in quite as satisfactory a condi-
tion as I wish. There are contending factions in
that quarter; but, it is true, all the factions are
agreed alike on the subject of colonization, and
want it, and are more generous than we are here.
To your colored race they have no objection.
I would endeavor to have you made the equals,
and have the best assurance that you should be,
the equals of the best.
The practical thing I want to ascertain is,
whether I can get a number of able-bodied men,
with their wives and children, who are willing to
go when I present evidence of encouragement
and protection. Could I get a hundred tolerably
intelligent men, with their wives and children,
and able to "cut their own fodder," so to speak?
Can I have fifty? If I could find twenty-five
able-bodied men, with a mixture of women and
children, — good things in the family relation, I
think, — I could make a successful commence-
ment. I want you to let me know whether this
can be done or not. This is the practical part of
my wish to see you. These are subjects of very
great importance — worthy of a month's study,
instead of a speech delivered in an hour. I ask
you, then, to consider seriously, not pertaining to
yourselves merely, nor for your race and ours
for the present time, but as one of the things, if
successfully managed, for the good of mankind —
not confined to the present generation, but as
From age to age descends the lay
To millions yet to be,
Till far its echoes roll away
Into eternity.
170 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Sept. 13
Remarks on Premature Emancipation to
Representatives of the Churches of Chi-
cago.
On September 13, 1862, President Lincoln made the
following reply to a committee from the religious
denominations of Chicago, asking him to issue a Proc-
lamation of Emancipation:
The subject presented in the memorial is one
upon which I have thought much for weeks past,
and I may even say for months. I am approached
with the most opposite opinions and advice, and
that by religious men who are equally certain that
they represent the divine will. I am sure that
either the one or the other class is mistaken in
that belief, and perhaps in some respects both. I
hope it will not be irreverent for me to say that
if it is probable that God would reveal his will
to others on a point so connected with my duty,
it might be supposed he would reveal it directly
to me ; for, unless I am more deceived in myself
than I often am, it is my earnest desire to know
the will of Providence in this matter. And if I
can learn what it is, I will do it. These are not,
however, the days of miracles, and I suppose it
will be granted that I am not to expect a direct rev-
elation. I must study the plain physical facts of
the case, ascertain what is possible, and learn
what appears to be wise and right.
The subject is difficult, and good men do not
agree. For instance, the other day four gentle-
men of standing and intelligence from New York
called as a delegation on business connected with
the war ; but, before leaving, two of them ear-
nestly beset me to proclaim general emancipation,
upon which the other two at once attacked them.
You also know that the last session of Congress
i862] TO CHURCHES OF CHICAGO 171
had a decided majority of antislavery men, yet
they could not unite on this policy. And the
same is true of the religious people. Why, the
rebel soldiers are praying with a great deal more
earnestness, I fear, than our own troops, and
expecting God to favor their side ; for one of our
soldiers who had been taken prisoner told Sen-
ator Wilson a few days since that he met with
nothing so discouraging as the evident sincerity
of those he was among in their prayers. But we
will talk over the merits of the case.
What good would a proclamation of emanci-
pation from me do, especially as we are now
situated ? I do not want to issue a document
that the whole world will see must necessarily be
inoperative, like the Pope's bull against the comet.
Would my word free the slaves, when I cannot
even enforce the Constitution in the rebel States ?
Is there a single court, or magistrate, or indi-
vidual that would be influenced by it there ? And
what reason is there to think it would have any
greater effect upon the slaves than the late law
of Congress, which I approved, and which offers
protection and freedom to the slaves of rebel
masters who come within our lines? Yet I can-
not learn that that law has caused a single slave
to come over to us. And suppose they could be
induced by a proclamation of freedom from me
to throw themselves upon us, what should we
do with them? How can we feed and care for
such a multitude? General Butler wrote me a
few days since that he was issuing more rations
to the slaves who have rushed to him than to all
the white troops under his command. They eat,
and that is all; though it is true General Butler
is feeding the whites also by the thousand, for it
172 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Sept. 13
nearly amounts to a famine there. If, now, the
pressure of the war should call off our forces
from New Orleans to defend some other point,
what is to prevent the masters from reducing the
blacks to slavery again? For I am told that
whenever the rebels take any black prisoners,
free or slave, they immediately auction them off.
They did so with those they took from a boat
that was aground in the Tennessee River a few
days ago. And then I am very ungenerously at-
tacked for it ! For instance, when, after the late
battles at and near Bull Run, an expedition went
out from Washington under a flag of truce to
bury the dead and bring in the wounded, and the
rebels seized the blacks who went along to help,
and sent them into slavery, Horace Greeley said
in his paper that the government would probably
do nothing about it. What could I do?
Now, then, tell me, if you please, what possible
result of good would follow the issuing of such a
proclamation as you desire? Understand, I raise
no objections against it on legal or constitutional
grounds ; for, as commander-in-chief of the army
and navy, in time of war I suppose I have a right
to take any measure which may best subdue the
enemy; nor do I urge objections of a moral
nature, in view of possible consequences of in-
surrection and massacre at the South. I view this
matter as a practical war measure, to be decided
on according to the advantages or disadvantages
it may offer to the suppression of the rebellion.
I admit that slavery is the root of the rebel-
lion, or at least its sine qua non. The ambition
of politicians may have instigated them to act,
but they would have been impotent without
slavery as their instrument. I will also concede
1862] TO CHURCHES OF CHICAGO 173
that emancipation would help us in Europe, and
convince them that we are incited by something
more than ambition. I grant, further, that it
would help somewhat at the North, though not
so much, I fear, as you and those you represent
imagine. Still, some additional strength would
be added in that way to the war, and then, un-
questionably, it would weaken the rebels by draw-
ing off their laborers, which is of great impor-
tance; but I am not so sure we could do much
with the blacks. If we were to arm them, I fear
that in a few weeks the arms would be in the
hands of the rebels ; and, indeed, thus far we have
not had arms enough to equip our wdiite troops.
I will mention another thing, though it meet only
your scorn and contempt. There are fifty thou-
sand bayonets in the Union armies from the
border slave States. It would be a serious matter
if, in consequence of a proclamation such as you
desire, they should go over to the rebels. I do
not think they all would — not so many, indeed, as
a year ago, or as six months ago — not so many
to-day as yesterday. Every day increases their
Union feeling. They are also getting their pride
enlisted, and want to beat the rebels. Let me say
one thing more : I think you should admit that we
already have an important principle to rally and
unite the people, in the fact that constitutional
government is at stake. This is a fundamental
idea going down about as deep as anything.
Do not misunderstand me because I have men-
tioned these objections. They indicate the diffi-
culties that have thus far prevented my action in
some such way as you desire. I have not de-
cided against a proclamation of liberty to the
slaves, but hold the matter under advisement;
i74 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Sept. 28
and I can assure you that the subject is on my
mind, by day and night, more than any other.
Whatever shall appear to be God's will, I will do.
I trust that in the freedom with which I have can-
vassed your views I have not in any respect in-
jured your feelings.
Remarks on Making the Emancipation Proc-
lamation Effective, in Response to a Sere-
nade.
On September 24, 1862, President Lincoln made the
following response to a serenade:
I appear before you to do little more than
acknowledge the courtesy you pay me, and to
thank you for it. I have not been distinctly in-
formed why it is that on this occasion you ap-
pear to do me this honor, though I suppose it is
because of the proclamation. What I did, I did
after a very full deliberation, and under a very
heavy and solemn sense of responsibility. I can
only trust in God I have made no mistake. I
shall make no attempt on this occasion to sustain
what I have done or said by any comment. It is
now for the country and the world to pass judg-
ment and, maybe, take action upon it.
I will say no more upon this subject. In my
position I am environed with difficulties. Yet
they are scarcely so great as the difficulties of
those who upon the battle-field are endeavoring
to purchase with their blood and their lives the
future happiness and prosperity of this country.
Let us never forget them. On the fourteenth
and seventeeth days of this present month there
have been battles bravely, skilfully, and success-
fully fought. We do not yet know the particu-
i862] REPLY TO MRS. GURNEY 175
lars. Let us be sure that, in giving praise to
certain individuals, we do no injustice to others.
I only ask you, at the conclusion of these few
remarks, to give three hearty cheers for all good
and brave officers and men who fought those
successful battles.
Remarks on the Divine Will, in Reply to an
Address by Mrs. Gurney.
Late in September, 1862, probably on the 28th day of
the month, President Lincoln made the following reply
to an address by Mrs. Gurney :
I am glad of this interview, and glad to know
that I have your sympathy and prayers. We are
indeed going through a great trial — a fiery trial.
In the very responsible position in which I hap-
pen to be placed, being a humble instrument in
the hands of our Heavenly Father, as I am, and
as we all are, to work out his great purposes, I
have desired that all my works and acts may be
according to his will, and that it might be so, I
nave sought his aid ; but if, after endeavoring to
do my best in the light which he affords me, I find
my efforts fail, I must believe that for some
purpose unknown to me, he wills it otherwise.
If I had had my way, this war would never have
"been commenced. If I had been allowed my way,
this war would have been ended before this; but
we find it still continues, and we must believe that
he permits it for some wise purpose of his own,
mysterious and unknown to us ; and though with
our limited understandings we may not be able
to comprehend it, yet we cannot but believe that
he who made the world still governs it.
176 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [May 30
Meditation on the Divine Will.
A day or so after the reply to Mrs. Gurney, probably
on September 30, 1862, President Lincoln wrote down
the following meditations on the will of God in its
relation to the Civil War:
The will of God prevails. In great contests
each party claims to act in accordance with the
will of God. Both may be, and one must be,
wrong. God cannot be for and against the same
thing at the same time. In the present civil war
it is quite possible that God's purpose is some-
thing different from the purpose of either party;
and yet the human instrumentalities, working just
as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect his
purpose. I am almost ready to say that this is
probably true ; that God wills this contest, and
wills that it shall not end yet. By his mere great
power on the minds of the now contestants, he
could have either saved or destroyed the Union
without a human contest. Yet the contest began.
And, having begun, he could give the final victory
to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.
Remarks on Benefits of the Union, Made at
Frederick, Maryland.
On October 4, 1862, President Lincoln while passing
through Frederick, Md., made short speeches to two
groups of assembled citizens and soldiers.
In my present position it is hardly proper for
me to make speeches. Every word is so closely
noted that it will not do to make foolish ones,
and I cannot be expected to be prepared [at all
times] to make sensible ones. If I were [/zozt/]
as I have been for most of my life, I might per-
haps talk nonsense to you for half an hour, and
1863] TO PRESBYTERIANS 177
it wouldn't hurt anybody. As it is, I can only
return thanks for the compliment paid our cause.
Please accept my sincere thanks for the compli-
ment to the country.
I see myself surrounded by soldiers and by
citizens of this good city of Frederick, all anxious
to hear something from me. Nevertheless, I can
only say — as I did elsewhere five minutes ago —
that it is not proper for me to make a speech in
my present position. I return thanks to our gal-
lant soldiers for the good service they have
rendered, the energies they have shown, the
hardships they have endured, and the blood they
have so nobly shed for this dear Union of ours,
and I also return thanks, not only to the soldiers,
but to the good citizens of Frederick and to all
the good men, women, and children throughout
the land for their devotion to our glorious cause,
and I say this without any malice in my heart to
those who have done otherwise. May our chil-
dren and our children's children for a thousand
generations continue to enjoy the benefits con-
ferred upon us by a united country and have
cause yet to rejoice under those glorious insti-
tutions bequeathed us by Washington and his
compeers !
Remarks on the Subordination of the Admin-
istration to the Government, Made to Mem-
bers of the Presbyterian General Assembly.
Late in May, 1863, probably on the 30th of the
month, President Lincoln made the following reply to
members of the Presbyterian General Assembly:
It has been my happiness to receive testimonies
of a similar nature from, I believe, all denomina-
i7S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [July 7
tions of Christians. They are all loyal, but per-
haps not in the same degree or in the same
numbers; but I think they all claim to be loyal.
This to me is most gratifying, because from the
beginning I saw that the issue of our great strug-
gle depended on the divine interposition and
favor. If we had that, all would be well. The
proportions of this rebellion were not for a long
time understood. I saw that it involved the
greatest difficulties, and would call forth all the
powers of the whole country. The end is
not yet.
The point made in your paper is well taken
as to "the government" and "the administration"
in whose hands are these interests. I fully appre-
ciate its correctness and justice. In my adminis-
tration I may have committed some errors. It
would be indeed remarkable if I had not. I have
acted according to my best judgment in every
case. The views expressed by the committee
accord with my own; and on this principle "the
government" is to be supported though "the ad-
ministration" may not in every case wisely act.
As a pilot I have used my best exertions to keep
afloat our Ship of State, and shall be glad to
resign my trust at the appointed time to another
pilot more skilful and successful than I may
prove. In every case and at all hazards the gov-
ernment must be perpetuated. Relying, as I do,
upon the Almighty Power, and encouraged as I
am by these resolutions which you have just
read, with the support which I receive from
Christian men, I shall not hesitate to use all the
means at my control to secure the termination of
this rebellion and will hope for success.
I sincerely thank you for this interview, this
i863] RESPONSE TO SERENADE 179
pleasant mode of presentation, and the General
Assembly for their patriotic support in these
resolutions.
Remarks on Notable Fourths of July, in
Response to a Serenade.
On July 7, 1863, President Lincoln made the follow-
ing response to a serenade:
Fellow-citizens: I am very glad indeed to see
you to-night, and yet I will not say I thank you
for this call; but I do most sincerely thank
Almighty God for the occasion on which you
have called. How long ago is it? — eighty-odd
years since, on the Fourth of July, for the first
time in the history of the world, a nation, by its
representatives, assembled and declared, as a self-
evident truth, "that all men are created equal. "
That was the birthday of the United States of
America. Since then the Fourth of July has had
several very peculiar recognitions. The two men
most distinguished in the framing and support of
the Declaration were Thomas Jefferson and John
Adams — the one having penned it and the other
sustained it the most forcibly in debate — the only
two of the fifty-five who signed it that were
elected Presidents of the United States. Pre-
cisely fifty years after they put their hands to
the paper, it pleased Almighty God to take both
from this stage of action. This was indeed an
extraordinary and remarkable event in our his-
tory. Another President, five years after, was
called from this stage of existence on the same
day and month of the year ; and now on this last
Fourth of July just passed, when we have a
gigantic rebellion, at the bottom of which is an
180 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Sept. 29
effort to overthrow the principle that all men are
created equal, we have the surrender of a most
powerful position and army on that very day.
And not only so, but in a succession of battles
in Pennsylvania, near to us, through three days,
so rapidly fought that they might be called one
great battle, on the first, second, and third of the
month of July ; and on the fourth the cohorts of
those who opposed the Declaration that all men
are created equal "turned tail" and run. Gentle-
men, this is a glorious theme, and the occasion
for a speech, but I am not prepared to make one
worthy of the occasion. I would like to speak
in terms of praise due to the many brave officers
and soldiers who have fought in the cause of the
Union and liberties of their country from the
beginning of the war. These are trying occa-
sions, not only in success, but for the want of suc-
cess. I dislike to mention the name of one single
officer, lest I might do wrong to those I might
forget. Recent events bring up glorious names,
and particularly prominent ones ; but these I will
not mention. Having said this much, I will now
take the music.
Remarks on Temperance in the Army to a
Delegation of the Sons of Temperance.
On September 29, 1863, a delegation of the Sons of
Temperance presented suggestions to President Lin-
coln looking to the decrease of drunkenness in the
army. The President replied as follows:
As a matter of course, it will not be possible
for me to make a response coextensive with the
address which you have presented to me. If I
were better known than I am, you would not
1863] TO SONS OF TEMPERANCE 181
need to be told that in the advocacy of the cause
of temperance you have a friend and sympathizer
in me.
When I was a young man — long ago — before
the Sons of Temperance as an organization had
an existence — I, in a humble way, made temper-
ance speeches, and I think I may say that to
this day I have never, by my example, belied
what I then said.
In regard to the suggestions which you make
for the purpose of the advancement of the cause
of temperance in the army, I cannot make par-
ticular responses to them at this time. To pre-
vent intemperance in the army is even a part of
the articles of war. It is part of the law of the
land, and was so, I presume, long ago, to dismiss
officers for drunkenness. I am not sure that,
consistently with the public service, more can be
done than has been done. All, therefore, that I
can promise you is— if you will be pleased to
furnish me with a copy of your address — to have
it submitted to the proper department, and have
it considered whether it contains any suggestions
which will improve the cause of temperance and
repress the cause of drunkenness in the army
any better than it is already done. I can promise
no more than that.
I think that the reasonable men of the world
have long since agreed that intemperance is one
of the greatest, if not the very greatest, of all
evils among mankind. That is not a matter of
dispute, I believe. That the disease exists, and
that it is a very great one, is agreed upon by all.
The mode of cure is one about which there may
be differences of opinion. You have suggested
that in an army — our army — drunkenness is a
182 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 9
great evil, and one which, while it exists to a very
great extent, we cannot expect to overcome so
entirely as to have such successes in our arms as
we might have without it. This undoubtedly is
true, and while it is perhaps rather a bad source
to derive comfort from, nevertheless, in a hard
struggle, I do not know but what it is some con-
solation to be aware that there is some intem-
perance on the other side, too ; and that they have
no right to beat us in physical combat on that
ground.
But I have already said more than I expected
to be able to say when I began, and if you please
to hand me a copy of your address, it shall be
•considered. I thank you very heartily, gentle-
men, for this call, and for bringing with you
these very many pretty ladies.
Speech at the Dedication of the National
Cemetery at Gettysburg.
On November 19, 1863, the National Cemetery of
Union Soldiers killed at the battle of Gettysburg was
dedicated in the presence of a vast array of people as-
sembled from all parts of the Union upon the battle-
field. The orator of the day was Edward Everett.
At the close of his long address, composed in the
finished periods of that '"classic" order of American
•oratory of which he was the greatest living master,
when the thunders of applause that it evoked had
ceased, President Lincoln rose and spoke a few heart-
felt words which so moved the deeps of emotion in his
hearers that many sat spell-bound and silent after the
speaker had finished. As the President's letter to Mr.
Everett, written on the following day, indicates (see
Letters in present edition), Mr. Lincoln inferred from
this reception that the speech was a "failure," but he
was quickly disabused of that idea by evidences coming
from every part of the Union of the deep impression it
had made on the hearts of his countrymen.
i864l TO GENERAL GRANT 183
Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers
brought forth on this continent a new nation,
conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the propo-
sition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, test-
in^ whether that nation, or any nation so con-
ceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We
are met on a great battle-field of that war. We
have come to dedicate a portion of that field as
a final resting-place for those who here gave their
lives that that nation might live. It is altogether
fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—
we cannot consecrate— we cannot hallow— this
ground. The brave men, living and dead, who
struo-eled here, have consecrated it far above our
poo? power to add or detract. The world will
little note nor long remember what we say here,
but it can never forget what they did here. It is
for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here
to the 'unfinished work which they who fought
here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather
for us to be here dedicated to the great task
remaining before us— that from these honored
dead we take increased devotion to that cause for
which they gave the last full measure of devo-
tion ; that we here highly resolve that these dead
shall not have died in vain; that this nation,
under God, shall have a new birth of freedom ;
and that government of the people, by the people,
for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Address to General Grant on Commissioning
Him Lieutenant-General.
On March 9. 1864, President Lincoln appointed
Ulysses S. Grant Lieutenant-General of the Army of
1 84 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 21
the United States. In handing the General his com-
mission the President said:
General Grant:
The nation's appreciation of what you have
done, and its reliance upon you for what re-
mains to do, in the existing great struggle, are
now presented with this commission, constituting
you Lieutenant-General in the Army of the
United States.
With this high honor 'devolves upon you also a
corresponding responsibility. As the country
herein trusts you, so, under God, it will sustain
you. I scarcely need add, that with what I here
speak for the nation, goes my own hearty personal
concurrence.
To this General Grant made the following response:
'Mr. President:
I accept this commission, with gratitude for the high
honor conferred.
With the aid of the noble armies that have fought on
so many fields for our common country, it will be my
earnest endeavor not to disappoint your expectations.
I feel the full weight of the responsibilities now de-
volving on me, and I know that if they are met, it will
be due to those armies, and above all, to the favor of
that Providence which leads both nations and men.
Remarks on the Women of America, Made at
a Sanitary Fair in Washington.
On March 18, 1864, in closing a sanitary fair in
Washington, President Lincoln took occasion to praise,
not only the heroism of American soldiers, but the
patriotism of American women:
Ladies and Gentlemen: I appear to say but a
word. This extraordinary war in which we are
engaged falls heavily upon all classes of people,
1864] TO WORKINGMEN 185
but the most heavily upon the soldier. For it
has been said, all that a man hath will he give
for his life ; and while all contribute of their
substance, the soldier puts his life at stake, and
often yields it up in his country's cause. The
highest merit, then, is due to the soldier.
In this extraordinary war, extraordinary devel-
opments have manifested themselves, such as
have not been seen in former wars ; and amongst
these manifestations nothing has been more re-
markable than these fairs for the relief of suffer-
ing soldiers and their families. And the chief
agents in these fairs are the women of America.
I am not accustomed to the use of language
of eulogy ; I have never studied the art of paying
compliments to women ; but I must say, that if
all that has been said by orators and poets since
the creation of the world in praise of women were
applied to the women of America, it would not
do them justice for their conduct during this
war. I will close by saying, God bless the women
of America.
Remarks on the Interest of Labor in Respect-
ing Rights of Property.
On March 21, 1864, President Lincoln made the fol-
lowing reply to a committee from the Workingmen's
Association of New York :
Gentlemen of the Committee: The honorary
membership in your association, as generously
tendered, is gratefully accepted.
You comprehend, as your address shows, that
the existing rebellion means more, and tends to
more, than the perpetuation of African slavery —
that it is, in fact, a war upon the rights of all
!86 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Apr. 18
working people. Partly to show that this view
lias not escaped my attention, and partly that I
cannot better express myself, I read a passage
from the message to Congress in December,
1861:
Here the President read that part of the message
beginning with "It continues to develop that the insur-
rection is largely, if not exclusively, a war upon the
first principle of popular government," and ending with
"Let them [the zvorkingmen] beware of surrendering
a political power which they already possess, and which,
if surrendered, will surely be used to close the door
of advancement against such as they, and to fix new
disabilities and burdens upon them, till all of liberty
shall be lost."
The views then expressed remain unchanged,
nor have I much to add. None are so deeply
interested to resist the present rebellion as the
working people. Let them beware of prejudice,
working division and hostility among themselves.
The most notable feature of a disturbance in your
city last summer was the hanging of some
working people by other working people. It
should never be so. The strongest bond of hu-
man sympathy, outside of the family relation,
should be one uniting all working people, of all
nations, and tongues, and kindreds. Nor should
this lead to a war upon property, or the owners
of property. Property is the fruit of labor;
property is desirable; is a positive good in the
world. That some should be rich shows that
others may become rich, and hence is just en-
couragement to industry and enterprise. Let
not him who is houseless pull down the house
of another, but let him work diligently and build
one for himself, thus by example assuring that
his own shall be safe from violence when built.
1864] AT BALTIMORE FAIR 187
Address on the Definition of Liberty and the
Reported Massacre of Negro Troops at
Fort Pillow, Made at a Sanitary Fair in Bal-
timore.
On April 18, 1864, President Lincoln spoke at a
sanitary fair in Baltimore on the important part the
slavery issue had assumed in the war:
Ladies and Gentlemen: Calling to mind that
we are in Baltimore, we cannot fail to note that
the world moves. Looking upon these many
people assembled here to serve, as they best may,
the soldiers of the Union, it occurs at once that
three years ago the same soldiers could not so
much as pass through Baltimore. The change
from then till now is both great and gratifying.
Elessings on the brave men who have wrought
the change, and the fair women who strive to
reward them for it !
But Baltimore suggests more than could hap-
pen within Baltimore. The change within Balti-
more is part only of a far wider change. When
the war began, three years ago, neither party,
nor any man, expected it would last till now.
Each looked for the end, in some way, long ere
to-day. Neither did any anticipate that domestic
slavery would be much affected by the war. But
here we are ; the war has not ended, and slavery
has been much affected — how much needs not
now to be recounted. So true is it that man pro-
poses and God disposes.
But we can see the past, though we may not
claim to have directed it; and seeing it, in this
case, we feel more hopeful and confident for the
future.
The world has never had a good definition of
i88 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Apr. 18
the word liberty, and the American people, just
now, are much in want of one. We all declare
for liberty ; but in using the same word we do not
all mean the same thing. With some the word
liberty may mean for each man to do as he
pleases with himself, and the product of his labor ;
while with others the same word may mean for
some men to do as they please with other men,
and the product of other men's labor. Here are
two, not only different, but incompatible things,
called by the same name, liberty. And it fol-
lows that each of the things is, by the respective
parties, called by two different and incompatible
names — liberty and tyranny.
The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's
throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd
as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him
for the same act, as the destroyer of liberty,
especially as the sheep was a black one. Plainly,
the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a
definition of the word liberty ; and precisely the
same difference prevails to-day among us human
creatures, even in the North, and all professing
to love liberty. Hence we behold the process by
which thousands are daily passing from under
the yoke of bondage hailed by some as the ad-
vance of liberty, and bewailed by others as the
destruction of all liberty. Recently, as it seems,
the people of Maryland have been doing some-
thing to define liberty, and thanks to them that,
in what they have done, the wolf's dictionary has
been repudiated.
It is not very becoming for one in my position
to make speeches at great length; but there is
another subject upon which I feel that I ought
to say a word.
1864] AT BALTIMORE FAIR 189
A painful rumor — true, I fear — has reached us
of the massacre by the rebel forces at Fort
Pillow, in the west end of Tennessee, on the
Mississippi River, of some three hundred colored
soldiers and white officers, who had just been
overpowered by their assailants. There seems to
be some anxiety in the public mind whether the
government is doing its duty to the colored sol-
dier, and to the service, at this point. At the
beginning of the war, and for some time, the use
of colored troops was not contemplated ; and how
the change of purpose was wrought I will not
now take time to explain. Upon a clear con-
viction of duty I resolved to turn that element
of strength to account ; and I am responsible for
it to the American people, to the Christian world,
to history, and in my final account to God. Hav-
ing determined to use the negro as a soldier,
there is no way but to give him all the protec-
tion given to any other soldier. The difficulty is
not in stating the principle, but in practically
applying it. It is a mistake to suppose the gov-
ernment is indifferent to this matter, or is not
doing the best it can in regard to it. We do not
to-day know that a colored soldier, or white
officer commanding colored soldiers, has been
massacred by the rebels when made a prisoner.
We fear it, — believe it, I may say, — but we do
not know it. To take the life of one of their
prisoners on the assumption that they murder
ours, when it is short of certainty that they do
murder ours, might be too serious, too cruel, a
mistake. We are having the Fort Pillow affair
thoroughly investigated ; and such investigation
will probably show conclusively how the truth is.
If after all that has been said it shall turn out
390 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [May 14
that there has been no massacre at Fort Pillow, it
will be almost safe to say there has been none,
and will be none, elsewhere. If there has been
the massacre of three hundred there, or even the
tenth part of three hundred, it will be conclusively
proved ; and being so proved, the retribution shall
as surely come. It will be matter of grave con-
sideration in what exact course to apply the retri-
bution ; but in the supposed case it must come.
Remarks on General Grant, in Response to a
Serenade.
On May 9, 1864, in response to a serenade, President
Lincoln spoke in praise of the recent achievements of
the Union commanders, especially Lieutenant-General
Grant:
Fellow-citizens: I am very much obliged to
you for the compliment of this call, though I
apprehend it is owing more to the good news
received to-day from the army, than to a desire
to see me. I am indeed very grateful to the
brave men who have been struggling with the
enemy in the field, to their noble commanders
who have directed them, and especially to our
Maker. Our commanders are following up their
victories resolutely and successfully. I think,
without knowing the particulars of the plans of
General Grant, that what has been accomplished
is of more importance than at first appears. I
believe, I know — and am especially grateful to
know — that General Grant has not been jostled
in his purposes, that he has made all his points,
and to-day he is on his line as he purposed before
he moved his armies. I will volunteer to say that
I am very glad at what has happened, but there
1864] TO CHURCH DELEGATIONS i9r
is a great deal still to be done. While we are
grateful to all the brave men and officers for
the events of the past few days, we should, above
all, be very grateful to almighty God, who gives
us victory.
There is enough yet before us requiring all
loyal men and patriots to perform their share of
the labor and follow the example of the modest
general at the head of our armies, and sink all
personal consideration for the sake of the coun-
try. I commend you to keep yourselves in the
same tranquil mood that is characteristic of that
brave and loyal man. I have said more than I
expected when I came before you. Repeating
my thanks for this call, I bid you good-by.
Replies to Methodist and Baptist Delegations.
On May 14, 1864, two delegations, one of Methodists
and one of Baptists, waited upon President Lincoln
with addresses from their respective denominations.
The President made the following replies:
To the Methodist Delegation.
Gentlemen: In response to your address, allow
me to attest the accuracy of its historical state-
ments, indorse the sentiments it expresses, and
thank you in the nation's name for the sure prom-
ise it gives.
Nobly sustained as the government has been by
all the churches, I would utter nothing which
might in the least appear invidious against any.
Yet without this it may fairly be said that the
Methodist Episcopal Church, not less devoted
than the best, is by its greater numbers the most
important of all. It is no fault in others that
the Methodist Church sends more soldiers to the
192 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [June g
field, more nurses to the hospital, and more
prayers to heaven than any. God bless the Meth-
odist Church. Bless all the churches, and blessed
be God, who, in this our great trial, giveth us
the churches.
To the Baptist Delegation.
In the present very responsible position in
which I am engaged, I have had great cause of
gratitude for the support so unanimously given
by all Christian denominations of the country. I
have had occasion so frequently to respond to
something like this assemblage, that I have said
all I had to say. This particular body is, in all
respects, as respectable as any that have been
presented to me. The resolutions I have merely
heard read, and I therefore beg to be allowed an
opportunity to make a short response in writing.
Reply to the Committee Notifying President
Lincoln of his Renomination.
On June 9, 1864, the President replied as follows to
the committee notifying him of his renomination as
President by the Union National [Republican] Con-
vention:
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Com-
mittee: I will neither conceal my gratification
nor restrain the expression of my gratitude that
the Union people, through their convention, in
their continued effort to save and advance the
nation, have deemed me not unworthy to remain
in my present position. I know no reason to
doubt that I shall accept the nomination tendered ;
and yet perhaps I should not declare definitely
before reading and considering what is called the
i864] TO NOTIFICATION COMMITTEE
193
platform. I will say now, however, I approve
the declaration in favor of so amending the Con-
stitution as to prohibit slavery throughout the
nation. When the people in revolt, with a hun-
dred days of explicit notice that they could within
those days resume their allegiance without the
overthrow of their institution, and that they could
not so resume it afterward, elected to stand out,
such amendment of the Constitution as now pro-
posed became a fitting and necessary conclusion
to the final success of the Union cause. Such
alone can meet and cover all cavils. Now the
unconditional Union men, North and South, per-
ceive its importance and embrace it. In the joint
names of Liberty and Union, let us labor to give
it legal form and practical effect.
Platform of the Union National Conven-
tion Held at Baltimore, Md., June 7 and
8, 1864.
1. Resolved, That it is the highest duty of every
American citizen to maintain against all their enemies
the integrity of the Union and the paramount authority
of the Constitution and laws of the United States; and
that, laying aside all differences of political opinion, we
pledge ourselves, as Union men, animated by a com-
mon sentiment and aiming at a common object, to do
everything in our power to aid the government in
quelling by force of arms the rebellion now raging
against its authority, and in bringing to the punishment
due to their crimes the rebels and traitors arrayed
against it.
2. Resolved, That we approve the determination of the
government of the United States not to compromise
with rebels, or to offer them any terms of peace, except
such as may be based upon an unconditional surrender
of their hostility and a return to their just allegiance
to the Constitution and laws of the United States, and
that we call upon the government to maintain this
position, and to prosecute the war with the utmost
i94 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [June 9
possible vigor to the complete suppression of the re-
bellion, in full reliance upon the self-sacrificing patriot-
ism, the heroic valor, and the undying devotion of the
American people to their country and its free institu-
tions.
3. Resolved, That as slavery was the cause, and now
constitutes the strength, of this rebellion, and as it must
be, always and everywhere, hostile to the principles of
republican government, justice and the national safety-
demand its utter and complete extirpation from the soil
of the republic; and that while we uphold and maintain
the acts and proclamations by which the government,
in its own defense, has aimed a death-blow at this
gigantic evil, we are in favor, furthermore, of such an
amendment to the Constitution, to be made by the
people in conformity with its provisions, as shall
terminate and forever prohibit the existence of slavery
within the limits or the jurisdiction of the United
States.
4. Resolved, That the thanks of the American people
are due to the soldiers and sailors of the army and
navy, who have periled their lives in defense of their
•country and in vindication of the honor of its flag;
that the nation owes to them some permanent recogni-
tion of their patriotism and their valor, and ample
and permanent provision for those of their survivors
who have received disabling and honorable wounds
in the service of the country; and that the memories
of those who have fallen in its defense shall be held
in grateful and everlasting remembrance.
5. Resolved, That we approve and applaud the practi-
cal wisdom, the unselfish patriotism, and the un-
swerving fidelity to the Constitution and the principles
of American liberty, with which Abraham Lincoln has
•discharged under circumstances of unparalleled dif-
ficulty the great duties and responsibilities of the
Presidential office ; that we approve and indorse as de-
manded by the emergency and essential to the preserva-
tion of the nation, and as within the provisions of the
Constitution, the measures and acts which he has
adopted to defend the nation against its open and
secret foes; that we approve, especially, the Proclama-
tion of Emancipation, and the employment as Union
soldiers of men heretofore held in slavery; and that
we have full confidence in his determination to carry
«864l TO NOTIFICATION COMMITTEE 195
these and all other constitutional measures essential
to the salvation of the country into full and complete
effect.
6. Resolved, That we deem it essential to the general
welfare that harmony should prevail in the national
councils, and we regard as worthy of public confidence
and official trust those only who cordially indorse the
principles proclaimed in these resolutions, and which
should characterize the administration of the govern-
ment.
7. Resolved, That the government owes to all men
employed in its armies, without regard to distinction of
color, the full protection of the laws of war, and that
any violation of these laws, or of the usages of civilized
nations in time of war, by the rebels now in arms,
should be made the subject of prompt and full redress.
8. Resolved, That foreign immigration, which in the
past has added so much to the wealth, development of
resources, and increase of power to this nation, 'che
asylum of the oppressed of all nations, should be
fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy.
9. Resolved, That we are in favor of the speedy con-
struction of the railroad to the Pacific coast.
10. Resolved, That the national faith, pledged for the
redemption of the public debt, must be kept inviolate,
and that for this purpose we recommend economy and
rigid responsibility in the public expenditures, and a
vigorous and just system of taxation: and that it is the
duty of every loyal State to sustain the credit and pro-
mote the use of the national currency.
11. Resolved, That we approve the position taken by
the government that the people of the United States
can never regard with indifference the attempt of any
European power to overthrow by force or to supplant
by fraud the institutions of any republican government
on the Western Continent, and that they will view
with extreme jealousy, as menacing to the peace and
independence of their own country, the efforts of any
such power to obtain new footholds for monarchical
governments, sustained by foreign military force, in
near proximity to the United States.
196 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [June n
Remarks on Support of the Army, to an Ohio
Delegation.
On June 9, 1864, an Ohio delegation returning from
the Baltimore convention serenaded the President. In
response he spoke of the primary duty of Union men
to support the army.
Gentlemen: I am very much obliged to you
for this compliment. I have just been saying, and
will repeat it, that the hardest of all speeches I
have to answer is a serenade. I never know what
to say on these occasions. I suppose that you
have done me this kindness in connection with
the action of the Baltimore convention, which has
recently taken place, and with which, of course,
I am very well satisfied. What we want, still
more than Baltimore conventions or presidential
elections, is success under General Grant. I pro-
pose that you constantly bear in mind that the
support you owe to the brave officers and soldiers
in the field is of the very first importance, and we
should therefore bend all our energies to that
point.
Now, without detaining you any longer, I pro-
pose that you help me to close up what I am now
saying with three rousing cheers for General
Grant and the officers and soldiers under his
command.
Remarks on Swapping Horses in Midstream,
to a Delegation from the National Union
League.
On June 9, 1864, an Ohio delegation returning from
the National Union League waited upon President Lin-
coln with an address. In reply the President spoke
modestly upon the considerations that had probably led
to his renomination.
1864] TO AN OHIO REGIMENT 197
Gentlemen: I can only say in response to the
kind remarks of your chairman, as I suppose,
that I am very grateful for the renewed confi-
dence which has been accorded to me both by
the convention and by the National League. I
am not insensible at all to the personal compli-
ment there is in this, and yet I do not allow my-
self to believe that any but a small portion of it
is to be appropriated as a personal compliment.
That really the convention and the Union League
assembled with a higher view — that of taking
care of the interests of the country for the pres-
ent and the great future — and that the part I am
entitled to appropriate as a compliment is only
that part which I may lay hold of as being the
opinion of the convention and of the League, that
I am not entirely unworthy to be intrusted with
the place which I have occupied for the last three
years. But I do not allow myself to suppose
that either the convention or the League have
concluded to decide that I am either the greatest
or best man in America, but rather they have con-
cluded that it is not best to swap horses while
crossing the river, and have further concluded
that I am not so poor a horse that they might not
make a botch of it in trying to swap.
Remarks to an Ohio Regiment.
On June 11. 1864, President Lincoln addressed a few
words to an Ohio regiment passing through Washing-
ton to the front.
Soldiers ! I understand you have just come
from Ohio — come to help us in this, the nation's
day of trial, and also of its hopes. I thank you
for your promptness in responding to the call for
I98 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [June 16
troops. Your services were never needed more
than now. I know not where you are going.
You may stay here and take the places of those
who will be sent to the front, or you may go
there yourselves. Wherever you go, I know you
will do your best. Again I thank you. Good-by.
Remarks on the Progress of the War, at a
Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia.
On June 16, 1864, President Lincoln spoke at a Sani-
tary Fair in Philadelphia on the progress of the war,
asking that citizens be ready to respond to measures
of emergency.
I suppose that this toast was intended to open
the way for me to say something.
War, at the best, is terrible, and this war of
ours, in its magnitude and in its duration, is
one of the most terrible. It has deranged busi-
ness, totally in many localities, and partially in
all localities. It has destroyed property and
ruined homes ; it has produced a national debt
and taxation unprecedented, at least in this coun-
try; it has carried mourning to almost every
home, until it can almost be said that the "heavens
are hung in black."
Yet the war continues, and several relieving co-
incidents have accompanied it from the very be-
ginning which have not been known, as I under-
stand, or have any knowledge of, in any former
wars in the history of the world. The Sanitary
Commission, with all its benevolent labors ; the
Christian Commission, with all its Christian and
benevolent labors ; and the various places, ar-
rangements, so to speak, and institutions, have
contributed to the comfort and relief of the sol-
,8641 AT PHILADELPHIA FAIR i99
diers. You have two of these places in this city-
the Cooper Shop and Union Volunteer Refresh-
ment Saloons. And lastly, these fairs, which, I
beheve began only last August if I mistake ,tt*
in Chicago* then at Boston, at Cincinnati, Brook-
lyn, New York, and Baltimore, and those at pres-
ent held at St. Louis, Pittsburg, and Philadelphia
The motive and object that he at the bottom of
all these are most worthy ; for, say what you will,
after all, the most is due" to the soldier who takes
h 1 fe in his hands and goes to fight the battles of
his country. In what is contributed to his com-
fort when he passes to and fro and in what is
contributed to him when he is sick and wounded
in whatever shape it comes, whether from the
fair and tender hand of woman or from any
other source, it is much, very much. But I thin*
Sat there is still that which is of as much vane
to him in the continual reminders he sees in the
newspapers that while he is absent he is yet ^re-
membered by the loved ones at home. Anoth r
view of these various institutions, if I may so
can them, is worthv of consideration, I think.
They are voluntary contributions, given zealously
and earnestly, on top of all the disturbances of
business of all the disorders, of all the taxation
and of all the burdens that the war has imposed
won us giving proof that the national resources
are not at all exhausted, and that the national
sphit of patriotism is even firmer and stronger
than at the commencement of the war
It is a pertinent question, often asked in the
mind privately, and from one to the other when
is the war to end? Surely I feel as deep an
interest in this question as any other can but 1
do not wish to name a day, a month, or a year,
2oo PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [July 23
when it is to end. I do not wish to run any risk
of seeing the time come without our being ready
for the end, for fear of disappointment because
the time had come and not the end. We accepted
this war for an object, a worthy object, and the
war will end when that object is attained. Under
God, I hope it never will end until that time.
Speaking of the present campaign, General
Grant is reported to have said, "I am going
through on this line if it takes all summer."
This war has taken three years ; it was begun or
accepted upon the line of restoring the national
authority over the whole national domain, and
for the American people, as far as my knowledge
enables me to speak, I say we are going through
on this line if it takes three years more.
My friends, I did not know but that I might
be called upon to say a few words before I got
away from here, but I did not know it was com-
ing just here. I have never been in the habit of,
making predictions in regard to the war, but I am
almost tempted to make one. If I were to hazard
it, it is this : That Grant is this evening, with
General Meade and General Hancock, and the
brave officers and soldiers with him, in a posi-
tion from whence he will never be dislodged until
Richmond is taken; and I have but one single
proposition to put now, and perhaps I can best
put it in the form of an interrogative. If I shall
discover that General Grant and the noble officers
and men under him can be greatly facilitated in
their work by a sudden pouring forward of men
and assistance, will you give them to me? Are
you ready to march? [Cries of "Yes."] Then
I say, Stand ready, for I am watching for the
chance. I thank you, gentlemen.
1864] TO ITALIAN ENVOY 201
Remarks on Amity with Italy, Made in Re-
ceiving Commander Bertinatti as Italian
Envoy Extraordinary.
On July 23, 1864, President Lincoln spoke as follows
to Commander Bertinatti, on the occasion of his ad-
vancement to the position of Italian Envoy Extra-
ordinary:
Mr. Commander Bertinatti:
I am free to confess that the United States
have in the course of the last three years en-
countered vicissitudes and been involved in. con-
troversies which have tried the friendship and
even the forbearance of other nations, but at no
stage in this unhappy fraternal war in which we
are only endeavoring to save and strengthen the
foundations of our national unity has the king
or the people of Italy faltered in addressing to
us the language of respect, confidence, and
friendship. We have tried you, Air. Bertinatti,
as a charge d'affaires and as a minister resident,
and in both of these characters we have found
you always sincerely and earnestly interpreting
the loyal sentiments of your sovereign. At the
same time I am sure that no minister here has
more faithfully maintained and advanced the
interests with which he was charged by his
government. I desire that your countrymen
may know that I think you have well deserved
the elevation to which I owe the pleasure of the
present interview.
I pray God to have your country in his holy
keeping, and to vouchsafe to crown with success
her noble aspirations to renew, under the
auspices of her present enlightened government,
her ancient career, so wonderfully illustrated in
the achievements of art, science, and freedom.
202 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Aug. 15
Remarks on Democratic Strategy, to Gover-
nor Randall and Others.
In an interview with several visitors, including ex-
Governor Randall of Wisconsin, held about the middle
of August, probably the 15th day of the month,
President Lincoln made the following remarks upon
the evils which would result from Democratic success
in the Presidential campaign. The interview was re-
ported by John T. Mills.
"Mr. President," said Governor Randall, "why can't
you seek seclusion, and play hermit for a fortnight?
It would reinvigorate you."
"Ah," said the President, "two or three weeks
would do me no good. I cannot fly from my
thoughts — my solicitude for this great country
follows me wherever I go. I do not think it is
personal vanity or ambition, though I am not
free from these infirmities, but I cannot but feel
that the weal or woe of this great nation will be
decided in November. There is no program
offered by any wing of the Democratic party but
that must result in the permanent destruction of
the Union."
"But, Mr. President, General McClellan is in favor
of crushing out this rebellion by force. He will be
the Chicago candidate."
"Sir, the slightest knowledge of arithmetic will
prove to any man that the rebel armies cannot
be destroyed by Democratic strategy. It would
sacrifice all the white men of the North to do it.
There are now in the service of the United States
nearly 150,000 able-bodied colored men, most of
them under arms, defending and acquiring
Union territory. The Democratic strategy de-
mands that these forces be disbanded, and that
1864] ON DEMOCRATIC STRATEGY 203;
the masters be conciliated by restoring them to
slavery. The black men who now assist Union
prisoners to escape are to be converted into our
enemies, in the vain hope of gaining the good-
will of their masters. We shall have to fight two
nations instead of one.
"You cannot conciliate the South if you
guarantee to them ultimate success ; and the ex-
perience of the present war proves their success
is inevitable if you fling the compulsory labor of
millions of black men into their side of the scale.
Will you give our enemies such military advan-
tages as insure success, and then depend on coax-
ing, flattery, and concession to get them back
into the Union? Abandon all the posts now
garrisoned by black men, take 150,000 men from
our side and put them in the battle-field or corn-
field against us, and we would be compelled to
abandon the war in three weeks.
"We have to hold territory in inclement and
sickly places; where are the Democrats to do
this ? It was a free fight, and the field was open
to the war Democrats to put down this rebellion
by fighting against both master and slave, long
before the present policy was inaugurated.
"There have been men base enough to propose
to men to return to slavery the black warriors of
Port Hudson and Olustee, and thus win the
respect of the masters they fought. Should I
do so, I should deserve to be damned in time and
eternity. Come what will, I will keep my faith.
with friend and foe. My enemies pretend I am
now carrying on this war for the sole purpose of
abolition. So long as I am President, it shall be
carried on for the sole purpose of restoring the
Union. But no human power can subdue this
204 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Aug. 22
rebellion without the use of the emancipation
policy, and every other policy calculated to weak-
en the moral and physical forces of the rebellion.
"Freedom has given us 150,000 men, raised on
Southern soil. It will give us more yet. Just
so much it has subtracted from the enemy, and,
instead of alienating the South, there are now
evidences of a fraternal feeling growing up be-
tween our men and the rank and file of the rebel
soldiers. Let my enemies prove to the country
that the destruction of slavery is not necessary
to a restoration of the Union. I will abide the
issue."
Remarks on Inequalities of Taxation, Made
to the 164th Ohio Regiment.
On August 18, 1864, in an address to the 164th Ohio
Regiment, President Lincoln referred to the bearing of
Union success on future generations, and appealed to
his hearers as patriots to bear incidental inequalities in
administration of government, especially those of taxa-
tion.
Soldiers: You are about to return to your
homes and your friends, after having, as I learn,
performed in camp a comparatively short term
of duty in this great contest. I am greatly
obliged to you, and to all who have come for-
ward at the call of their country. I wish it
might be more generally and universally under-
stood what the country is now engaged in. We
have, as all will agree, a free government, where
every man has a right to be equal with every
other man. In this great struggle, this form of
government and every form of human right is
endangered if our enemies succeed. There is
more involved in this contest than is realized by
1864] TO 166TH OHIO REGIMENT 205
every one. There is involved in this struggle
the question whether your children and my
children shall enjoy the privileges we have en-
joyed. I say this in order to impress upon you,
if you are not already so impressed, that no
small matter should divert us from our great
purpose.
There may be some inequalities in the practical
application of our system. It is fair that each
man shall pay taxes in exact proportion to the
value of his property ; but if we should wait, be-
fore collecting a tax, to adjust the taxes upon
each man in exact proportion with every other
man, we should never collect any tax at all.
There may be mistakes made sometimes ; things
may be done wrong, while the officers of the
government do all they can to prevent mistakes.
But I beg of you, as citizens of this great re-
public, not to let your minds be carried off from
the great work we have before us. This struggle
is too large for you to be diverted from it by any
small matter. When you return to your homes,
rise up to the height of a generation of men
worthy of a free government, and we will carry
out the great work we have commenced. I re-
turn to you my sincere thanks, soldiers, for the
honor you have done me this afternoon.
Remarks on the Value of American Citizen-
ship, Made to the 166th Ohio Regiment.
On August 22, 1864, in an address to the 166th Ohio
Regiment, President Lincoln spoke in a similar strain
to the foregoing address, laying stress on the inesti-
mable worth of free government.
Soldiers: I suppose you are going home to see
your families and friends. For the services you
206 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Aug. 31
have done in this great struggle in which we are
all engaged, I present you sincere thanks for my-
self and the country.
I almost always feel inclined, when I happen
to say anything to soldiers, to impress upon
them, in a few brief remarks, the importance of
success in this contest. It is not merely for to-
day, but for all time to come, that we should
perpetuate for our children's children that great
and free government which we have enjoyed all
our lives. I beg you to remember this, not
merely for my sake, but for yours. I happen,
temporarily, to occupy this White House. I am
a living witness that any one of your children
may look to come here as my father's child has.
It is in order that each one of you may have,
through this free government which we have en-
joyed, an open field and a fair chance for your
industry, enterprise, and intelligence ; that you
may all have equal privileges in the race of life,
with all its desirable human aspirations. It is
for this the struggle should be maintained, that
we may not lose our birthright — not only for one,
but for two or three years. The nation is worth
fighting for, to secure such an inestimable jewel.
An Appeal to Soldiers to Resist Disaffection,
Made to the 148th Ohio Regiment.
On August 31, 1864, in an address to the 148th Ohio
Regiment, President Lincoln made an earnest appeal
to soldiers as patriots to resist the wiles of those who
would persuade them that they were discriminated
against by the government.
Soldiers of the 148th Ohio:
I am most happy to meet you on this occasion.
I understand that it has been your honorable
1864] TO 148TH OHIO REGIMENT 207
privilege to stand, for a brief period, in the de-
fense of your country, and that now you are on
your way to your homes. I congratulate you,
and those who are waiting to bid you welcome
home from the war ; and permit me in the name
of the people to thank you for the part you have
taken in this struggle for the life of the nation.
You are soldiers of the republic, everywhere
honored and respected. Whenever I appear be-
fore a body of soldiers, I feel tempted to talk to
them of the nature of the struggle in which we
are engaged. I look upon it as an attempt on
the one hand to overwhelm and destroy the
national existence, while on our part we are
striving to maintain the government and institu-
tions of our fathers, to enjoy them ourselves, and
transmit them to our children and our children's
children forever.
To do this the constitutional administration of
our government must be sustained, and I beg of
you not to allow your minds or your hearts to be
diverted from the support of all necessary meas-
ures for that purpose, by any miserable picayune
arguments addressed to your pockets, or inflam-
matory appeals made to your passions and your
prejudices.
It is vain and foolish to arraign this man or
that for the part he has taken or has not taken,
and to hold the government responsible for his
acts. In no administration can there be perfect
equality of action and uniform satisfaction ren-
dered by all.
But this government must be preserved in
spite of the acts of any man or set of men. It is
worthy of your every effort. Nowhere in the
world is presented a government of so much
208 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Sept. 7
liberty and equality. To the humblest and
poorest amongst us are held out the highest
privileges and positions. The present moment
finds me at the White House, yet there is as good
a chance for your children as there was for my
father's.
Again I admonish you not to be turned from
your stern purpose of defending our beloved
country and its free institutions by any argu-
ments urged by ambitious and designing men,
but to stand fast for the Union and the old flag.
Soldiers, I bid you God-speed to your homes.
Remarks on Venezuela, Made in Receiving
Minister Bruzual.
On September 5, 1864, President Lincoln extended a
welcome to the new minister from Venezuela, Sefior
Bias Bruzual. In it he paid a tribute to Venezuela as
a leader in South American civilization.
Mr. Bruzual: It gives me pleasure to receive
and welcome to the United States a representa-
tive of Venezuela.
Venezuela, almost centrally situated among
American republics, holds a position com-
mercially advantageous and politically impor-
tant. Endowed by nature with capacity for rich
and varied production, it extends over a broad
territory, embracing vast resources yet to be de-
veloped. Guided by the principles of republican
government and advancing civilization, it adopts
institutions which have contributed largely to
the growth of the countries of this continent in
the past, and which form the basis of high and
cherished aspirations for their future.
The government and people of the United
■1864] OX THE BIBLE 209
States cannot but feel a deep interest and earnest
sympathy in the peace, the prosperity, and the
progress of Venezuela.
Thanking you for the friendly sentiments to-
ward the United States which you have ex-
pressed, I pray you to accept the assurance of
my best wishes that your sojourn in our country
may be agreeable to yourself and satisfactory to
the government which you represent.
Remarks upon the Holy Scriptures, in Receiv-
ing the Present of a Bible from a Negro
Delegation.
On September 7, 1864, a committee of colored people
of Baltimore presented a Bible to the President, who
responded with a tribute to the holy book.
This occasion would seem fitting for a lengthy
response to the address which you have just
made. I would make one if prepared ; but I am
not. I would promise to respond in writing had
not experience taught me that business will not
allow me to do so. I can only now say, as I
have often before said, it has always been a sen-
timent with me that all mankind should be free.
So far as able, within my sphere, I have always
acted as I believe to be right and just; and I
have done all I could for the good of mankind
generally. In letters and documents sent from
this office I have expressed myself better than I
now can. In regard to this great book, I have
but to say, it is the best gift God has given to
man.
All the good Saviour gave to the world was
communicated through this book. But for it we
could not know right from wrong. All thing?
210 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Oct. 19
most desirable for man's welfare, here and here-
after, are to be found portrayed in it. To you I
return my most sincere thanks for the very
elegant copy of the great Book of God which
you present.
Remarks on the Abolition of Slavery in Mary-
land, in Response to a Serenade.
On October 19, 1864, in response to a serenade given
him by citizens of Maryland, President Lincoln con-
gratulated them upon the abolition of slavery in the
State by its new constitution. Referring to the com-
ing Presidential election, he pledged himself to uphold
whatever government the people should decree.
Friends and Fellow-citizens: I am notified that
this is a compliment paid me by the loyal Mary-
landers resident in this district. I infer that the
adoption of the new constitution for the State
furnishes the occasion, and that in your view the
extirpation of slavery constitutes the chief merit
of the new constitution. Most heartily do I con-
gratulate you, and Maryland, and the nation,
and the world, upon this event. I regret that it
did not occur two years sooner, which, I am sure,
would have saved to the nation more money than
would have met all the private loss incident to
the measure ; but it has come at last, and I sin-
cerely hope its friends may fully realize all their
anticipations of good from it, and that its op-
ponents may by its effects be agreeably and
profitably disappointed.
A word upon another subject. Something
said by the Secretary of State, in his recent
speech at Auburn, has been construed by some
into a threat that if I shall be beaten at the elec-
z864] RESPONSE TO SERENADE 211
tion I will, between then and the end of my con-
stitutional term, do what I may be able to rum
the government. Others regard the fact that
the Chicago Convention adjourned, not sine die,
but to meet again, if called to do so by a particu-
lar individual, as the intimation of a purpose that
if their nominee shall be elected he will at once
seize control of the government. I hope the
good people will permit themselves to suffer no
uneasiness on either point.
I am struggling to maintain the government,
not to overthrow it. I am struggling, especially,
to prevent others from overthrowing it. I there-
fore say that if I shall live I shall remain
President until the 4th of next March ; and that
whoever shall be constitutionally elected there-
for, in November, shall be duly installed as
President on the 4th of March ; and that, in the
interval, I shall do my utmost that whoever is to
hold 'the helm for the next voyage shall start
with the best possible chance to save the ship.
This is due to the people both on principle and
under the Constitution. Their will, constitu-
tionally expressed, is the ultimate law for all. If
they should deliberately resolve to have immedi-
ate peace, even at the loss of their country and
their liberty, I know not the power or the right
to resist them. It is their own business, and
they must do as they please with their own. I
believe, however, they are still resolved to pre-
serve their country and their liberty ; and in this,
in office or out of it, I am resolved to stand by
them.
I may add that in this purpose— to save the
country and its liberties— no classes of people
seem so nearly unanimous as the soldiers in the
212 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Nov. 9
field and the sailors afloat. Do they not have
the hardest of it ? Who should quail when they
do not? God bless the soldiers and seamen, with
all their brave commanders.
Remarks on Voting as You Fight, Made to
the 189th New York Regiment.
On October 24, 1864, the President addressed the
189th New York Regiment, praising the soldiers for
upholding the administration on the battlefield and at
the polls.
Soldiers: I am exceedingly obliged to you for
this mark of respect. It is said that we have the
best government the world ever knew, and I am
glad to meet you, the supporters of that govern-
ment. To you who render the hardest work in
its support should be given the greatest credit.
Others who are connected with it, and who
occupy higher positions, can be dispensed with,
but we cannot get along without your aid.
While others differ with the administration, and,
perhaps, honestly, the soldiers generally have
sustained it; they have not only fought right,
but, so far as could be judged from their actions,
they have voted right, and I for one thank you
for it. I know you are en route for the front,
and therefore do not expect me to detain you
long. I will now bid you good-morning.
Remarks on Election Day, in Response to a
Serenade.
On November 9, 1864, the day of the Presidential
election, the President was serenaded by citizens of
Pennsylvania. He seized the opportunity to express
i864] RESPONSE TO SERENADE
213
his gratitude to the country for its support of his
labors in upholding the Union.
Friends and Fellow-citizens: Even before I
had been informed by you that this compliment
was paid me by loyal citizens of Pennsylvania,
friendly to me, I had inferred that you were of
that portion of my countrymen who think that
the best interests of the nation are to be sub-
served by the support of the present administra-
tion. I do not pretend to say that you, who
think so, embrace all the patriotism and loyalty
of the country, but I do believe, and I trust with-
out personal interest, that the welfare of the
country does require that such support and in-
dorsement should be given.
I earnestly believe that the consequences of
this day's work, if it be as you assume, and as
now seems probable, will be to the lasting advan-
tage, if not to the very salvation, of the country.
I cannot at this hour say what has been the result
of the election. But, whatever it may be, I have
no desire to modify this opinion : that all who
have labored to-day in behalf of the Union have
wrought for the best interests of the country and
the world; not only for the present, but for all
future ages.
I am thankful to God for this approval of the
people; but, while deeply grateful for this mark
of their confidence in me, if I know my heart, my
gratitude is free from any taint cf personal
triumph. I do not impugn the motives of any
one opposed to me. It is no pleasure to me to
triumph over any one, but I give thanks to the
Almighty for this evidence of the people's reso-
lution to stand by free government and the rights
of humanity.
214 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Nov. 10
Remarks on the Benefits of the Elective Sys-
tem, in Response to a Serenade.
On November 10, 1864, when it was definitely known
that he had been reelected, the President was the
recipient of a serenade by citizens, in responding to
which he cited the orderliness of the election as a
signal proof of the stability of democratic government.
It has long been a grave question whether any
government, not too strong for the liberties of
its people, can be strong enough to maintain its
existence in great emergencies. On this point
the present rebellion brought our republic to a
severe test, and a presidential election occurring
in regular course during the rebellion, added not
a little to the strain.
If the loyal people united were put to the ut-
most of their strength by the rebellion, must they
not fail when divided and partially paralyzed by
a political war among themselves ? But the elec-
tion was a necessity. We cannot have free
government without elections ; and if the re-
bellion could force us to forego or postpone a
national election, it might fairly claim to have
already conquered and ruined us. The strife of
the election is but human nature practically ap-
plied to the facts of the case. What has oc-
curred in this case must ever recur in similar
cases. Human nature will not change. In any
future great national trial, compared with the
men of this, we shall have as weak and as strong,
as silly and as wise, as bad and as good. Let us,
therefore, study the incidents of this as philos-
ophy to learn wisdom from, and none of them as
wrongs to be revenged. But the election, along
with its incidental and undesirable strife, has
1864] RESPONSE TO SERENADE 215
done good too. It has demonstrated that a peo-
ple's government can sustain a national election
in the midst of a great civil war. Until now, it
has not been known to the world that this was a
possibility. It shows, also, how sound and how
strong we still are. It shows that, even among
candidates of the same party, he who is most
devoted to the Union and most opposed to trea-
son can receive most of the people's votes. It
shows, also, to the extent yet known, that we
have more men now than we had when the war
began. Gold is good in its place, but living,
brave, patriotic men are better than gold.
But the rebellion continues, and now that the
election is over, may not all having a common
interest reunite in a common effort to save our
common country? For my own part, I have
striven and shall strive to avoid placing any
obstacle in the way. So long as I have been here
I have not willingly planted a thorn in any man's
bosom. While I am deeply sensible to the high
compliment of a reelection, and duly grateful, as
I trust, to almighty God for having directed my
countrymen to a right conclusion, as I think, for
their own good, it adds nothing to my satisfac-
tion that any other man may be disappointed or
pained by the result.
May I ask those who have not differed with
me to join with me in this same spirit toward
those who have? And now let me close by ask-
ing three hearty cheers for our brave soldiers
and seamen and their gallant and skilful com-
manders.
216 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Dec. 6
Remarks on Maryland's Free Constitution,
to the Maryland Union Committee.
On November 17, 1864, in reply to the Maryland
Union Committee, which had waited upon him in con-
gratulation of his reelection, President Lincoln spoke
of Maryland's adoption of a free constitution as more
significant than his own triumph.
The President, in reply, said that he had to
confess he had been duly notified of the intention
to make this friendly call some days ago, and in
this he had had a fair opportunity afforded to be
ready with a set speech ; but he had not prepared
one, being too busy for that purpose. He would
say, however, that he was gratified with the re-
sult of the presidential election. He had kept
as near as he could to the exercise of his best
judgment for the interest of the whole country,
and to have the seal of approbation stamped on
the course he had pursued was exceedingly
grateful to his feelings. He thought he could
say, in as large a sense as any other man, that
his pleasure consisted in belief that the policy he
had pursued was the best, if not the only one, for
the safety of the country.
He had said before, and now repeated, that he
indulged in no feeling of triumph over any man
who thought or acted differently from himself.
He had no such feeling toward any living man.
When he thought of Maryland, in particular, he
was of the opinion that she had more than double
her share in what had occurred in the recent
elections. The adoption of a free-State con-
stitution was a greater thing than the part taken
by the people of the State in the presidential
election. He would any day have stipulated to
1864] RESPONSE TO SERENADE 217
lose Maryland in the presidential election to save
it by the adoption of a free-State constitution,
because the presidential election comes every
four years, while that is a thing which, being
done, cannot be undone. He therefore thought
that in that they had a victory for the right
worth a great deal more than their part in the
presidential election, though of the latter he
thought highly. He had once before said, but
would say again, that those who have differed
with us and opposed us will see that the result
of the presidential election is better for their own
good than if they had been successful.
Remarks on Sherman's March to the Sea, in
Response to a Serenade.
On December 6, 1864, in a brief response to a sere-
nade, President Lincoln turned the subject from his
reelection to General Sherman, who had cut himself
off from Northern communication, and had plunged
his army into the heart of the Confederacy.
Friends and Fellozv-citizens: I believe I shall
never be old enough to speak without embarrass-
ment when I have nothing to talk about. I have
no good news to tell you, and yet I have no bad
news to tell. We have talked of elections until
there is nothing more to say about them. The
most interesting news we now have is from
Sherman. We all know where he went in, but
I can't tell where he will come out. I will now
close by proposing three cheers for General
Sherman and his army.
2i 8 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Jan. 31
Remarks on Edward Everett, to a Committee
Presenting a Souvenir of Gettysburg.
On January 24, 1865, a committee of ladies and
gentlemen presented President Lincoln with a souvenir
of Gettysburg. In response he paid a tribute to
Edward Everett, the orator of the day at the dedication
of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, who had
recently died (January 15, 1865).
Reverend Sir, and Ladies and Gentlemen: I
accept with emotions of profoundest gratitude,
the beautiful gift you have been pleased to
present to me. You will, of course, expect that
I acknowledge it. So much has been said about
Gettysburg, and so well, that for me to attempt
to say more may perhaps only serve to weaken
the force of that which has already been said.
A most graceful and eloquent tribute was paid
to the patriotism and self-denying labors of the
American ladies, on the occasion of the conse-
cration of the national cemetery at Gettysburg,
by our illustrious friend, Edward Everett, now,
alas ! departed from earth. His life was a truly
great one, and I think the greatest part of it was
that which crowned its closing years. I wish
you to read, if you have not already done so, the
eloquent and truthful words which he then spoke
of the women of America. Truly, the services
they have rendered to the defenders of our coun-
try in this perilous time, and are yet rendering,
can never be estimated as they ought to be. For
your kind wishes to me personally, I beg leave to
render you likewise my sincerest thanks. I as-
sure you they are reciprocated. And now,
gentlemen and ladies, may God bless you all.
i865] RESPONSE TO SERENADE 219
Remarks on the Constitutional Amendment
Abolishing Slavery, in Response to a
Serenade.
On January 31, 1865, in response to a serenade, the
President made the following remarks on the adoption
by Congress the day before of the Constitutional
amendment abolishing slavery.
He supposed the passage through Congress of
the constitutional amendment for the abolish-
ment of slavery throughout the United States
was the occasion to which he was indebted for
the honor of this call.
The occasion was one of congratulation to the
country, and to the whole world. But there is a
task yet before us — to go forward and have con-
summated by the votes of the States that which
Congress had so nobly begun yesterday. [Ap-
plause and cries, "They will do it" etc.] He
had the honor to inform those present that
Illinois had already to-day done the work.
Maryland was about half through, but he felt
proud that Illinois was a little ahead.
He thought this measure was a very fitting if
not an indispensable adjunct to the winding up
of the great difficulty. He wished the reunion
of all the States perfected, and so effected as to
remove all causes of disturbance in the future;
and, to attain this end, it was necessary that the
original disturbing cause should, if possible, be
rooted out. He thought all would bear him wit-
ness that he had never shrunk from doing all
that he could to eradicate slavery, by issuing an
emancipation proclamation. But that proclama-
tion falls short of what the amendment will be
when fully consummated. A question might be
220 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Feb. 7
raised whether the proclamation was legally
valid. It might be urged, that it only aided those
that came into our lines, and that it was inopera-
tive as to those who did not give themselves up;
or that it would have no effect upon the children
of slaves born hereafter ; in fact, it would be
urged that it did not meet the evil. But this
amendment is a king's cure-all for all evils. It
winds the whole thing up. He would repeat
that it was the fitting if not the indispensable ad-
junct to the consummation of the great game we
are playirg. He could not but congratulate all
present — himself, the country, and the whole
world — upon this great moral victory.
The Hampton Roads Conference.
In a letter dated February 7, 1865, and addressed to
Charles Francis Adams, Minister to Great Britain,
Secretary Seward gives the following account of the
conference which President Lincoln held with the Con-
federate Peace Commissioners at Hampton Roads,
February 3, 1865.
On the morning of the 3d, the President,
attended by the Secretary, received Messrs.
Stephens, Hunter, and Campbell on board the
United States steam transport River Queen in
Hampton Roads. The conference was altogether
informal. There was no attendance of secre-
taries, clerks, or other witnesses. Nothing was
written or read. The conversation, although
earnest and free, was calm, and courteous, and
kind on both sides. The Richmond party ap-
proached the discussion rather indirectly, and at
no time did they either make categorical de-
mands, or tender formal stipulations, or absolute
refusals. Nevertheless, during the conference,
•1865] HAMPTON ROADS CONFERENCE 221
which lasted four hours, the several points at
issue between the government and the insurgents
were distinctly raised, and discussed fully, intel-
ligently, and in an amicable spirit. What the in-
surgent party seemed chiefly to favor was a post-
ponement of the question of separation, upon
which the war is waged, and a mutual direction
of efforts of the government, as well as those of
the insurgents, to some extrinsic policy or scheme
for a season during which passions might be ex-
pected to subside, and the armies be reduced, and
trade and intercourse between the people of both
sections resumed. It was suggested by them that
through such postponement we might now have
immediate peace, with some not very certain pros-
pect of an ultimate satisfactory adjustment of
political relations between this government and
the States, section, or people now engaged in
conflict with it.
This suggestion, though deliberately consid-
ered, was nevertheless regarded by the President
as one of armistice or truce, and he announced
that we can agree to no cessation or suspension
of hostilities, except on the basis of the disband-
ment of the insurgent forces, and the restoration
of the national authority throughout all the
States in the Union. Collaterally, and in subor-
dination to the proposition which was thus an-
nounced, the antislavery policy of the United
States was reviewed in all its bearings, and the
President announced that he must not be ex-
pected to depart from the positions he had here-
tofore assumed in his proclamation of emancipa-
tion and other documents, as these positions were
reiterated in his last annual message. It was
further declared by the President that the com-
222 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 4
plete restoration of the national authority was
an indispensable condition of any assent on our
part to whatever form of peace might be pro-
posed. The President assured the other party
that, while he must adhere to these positions, he
would be prepared, so far as power is lodged with
the executive, to exercise liberality. His power,
however, is limited by the Constitution ; and when
peace should be made, Congress must necessarily
act in regard to appropriation of money and to
the admission of representatives from the insur-
rectionary States. The Richmond party were
then informed that Congress had, on the 31st
ultimo, adopted by a constitutional majority a
joint resolution submitting to the several States
the proposition to abolish slavery throughout the
Union, and that there is every reason to expect
that it will be soon accepted by three-fourths of
the States, so as to become a part of the national
organic law.
The conference came to an end by mutual
acquiescence, without producing an agreement of
views upon the several matters discussed, or any
of them. Nevertheless, it is perhaps of some
importance that we have been able to submit our
opinions and views directly to prominent insur-
gents, and to hear them in answer in a courteous
and not unfriendly manner.
Acceptance of the Office of President Made to
Notification Committee of Congress.
On February 9, 1865, a committee of Congress re-
ported to President Lincoln that he had been reelected
by the Electoral College. In response he accepted the
trust in the following brief remarks:
With deep gratitude to my countrymen for
i86sl SECOND INAUGURAL 223
this mark of their confidence ; with a distrust of
my own ability to perform the duty required
under the most favorable circumstances, and now
rendered doubly difficult by existing national
perils; yet with a firm reliance on the strength
of our free government, and the eventual loyalty
of the people to the just principles upon which
it is founded, and above all with an unshaken
faith in the Supreme Ruler of nations, I accept
this trust. Be pleased to signify this to the re-
spective Houses of Congress.
Second Inaugural Address.
Delivered at Washington, D. C. March 4,
1865.
Fellow-countrymen: At this second appearing
to take the oath of the presidential office, there is
less occasion for an extended address than there
was at the first. Then a statement, somewhat in
detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting
and proper. Now, at the expiration of four
years, during which public declarations have been
constantly called forth on every point and phase
of the great contest which still absorbs the atten-
tion and engrosses the energies of the nation,
little that is new could be presented. The prog-
ress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly de-
pends, is as well known to the public as to my-
self; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory
and encouraging to all. With high hope for the
future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.
On the occasion corresponding to this four
years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed
to an impending civil war. All dreaded it — all
sought to avert it. While the inaugural address
224 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Mar. 17
was being delivered from this place, devoted al-
together to saving the Union without war, insur-
gent agents were in the city seeking to destroy
it without war — seeking to dissolve the Union,
and divide effects, by negotiation. Both parties
deprecated war ; but one of them would make war
rather than let the nation survive; and the other
would accept war rather than let it perish. And
the war came.
One-eighth of the whole population were col-
ored slaves, not distributed generally over the
Union, but localized in the Southern part of it.
These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful
interest. All knew that this interest was, some-
how, the cause of the war. To strengthen, per-
petuate, and extend this interest was the object
for which the insurgents would rend the Union,
even by war ; while the government claimed no
right to do more than to restrict the territorial
enlargement of it.
Neither party expected for the war the mag-
nitude or the duration which it has already
attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of
the conflict might cease with, or even before,
the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for
an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental
and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and
pray to the same God; and each invokes his aid
against the other. It may seem strange that
any men should dare to ask a just God's assist-
ance in wringing their bread from the sweat of
other men's faces ; but let us judge not, that we
be not judged. The prayers of both could not
be answered — that of neither has been answered
fully.
The Almighty has his own purposes. "Woe
2865] TO INDIANA REGIMENT 225
unto the world because of offenses ! for it must
needs be that offenses come ; but woe to that man
by whom the offense cometh." If we shall sup-
pose that American slavery is one of those of-
fenses which, in the providence of God, must
needs come, but which, having continued through
his appointed time, he now wills to remove, and
that he gives to both North and South this terri-
ble war, as the woe due to those by whom the
offense came, shall we discern therein any depart-
ure from those divine attributes which the be-
lievers in a living God always ascribe to him?
Fondly do we hope — fervently do we pray — that
this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass
away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all
the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred
and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk,
and until every drop of blood drawn with the
lash shall be paid by another drawn with the
sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so
still it must be said, "The judgments of the Lord
are true and righteous altogether."
With malice toward none ; with charity for all ;
with firmness in the right, as God gives us to
see the right, let us strive on to finish the work
we are in ; to bind up the nation's wounds ; to
care for him who shall have borne the battle,
and for his widow, and his orphan — to do all
which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting
peace among ourselves, and with all nations.
Remarks on the Employment of Negroes in
the Confederate Army, Made to an Indiana
Regiment.
On March 17, 1865, in an address to an Indiana
Regiment, the President took occasion to animadvert
226 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Apr. n
on the reported intention of the Confederacy to employ-
negroes in the army.
Fellow-citizens: A few words only. I was
born in Kentucky, raised in Indiana, reside in
Illinois, and now, here, it is my duty to care
equally for the good people of all the States. I
am to-day glad of seeing it in the power of an
Indiana regiment to present this captured flag to
the good governor of their State ; and yet I would
not wish to compliment Indiana above other
States, remembering that all have done so
well.
There are but few aspects of this great war on
which I have not already expressed my views by
speaking or writing. There is one — the recent
effort of "our erring brethren," sometimes so
called, to employ the slaves in their armies. The
great question with them has been, "Will the
negro fight for them?" They ought to know
better than we, and doubtless do know better
than we. I may incidentally remark, that hav-
ing in my life heard many arguments — or strings
of words meant to pass for arguments — intended
to show that the negro ought to be a slave — if
he shall now really fight to keep himself a slave,
it will be a far better argument why he should
remain a slave than I have ever before heard.
He, perhaps, ought to be a slave if he desires
it ardently enough to fight for it. Or, if one
out of four will, for his own freedom, fight to
keep the other three in slavery, he ought to be
a slave for his selfish meanness. I have always
thought that all men should be free; but if any
should be slaves, it should be first those who
desire it for themselves, and secondly those who
desire it for others. Whenever I hear any one
1865] ON RECONSTRUCTION 227
arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to
see it tried on him personally.
There is one thing about the negroes' fighting
for the rebels which we can know as well as
they can, and that is that they cannot at the
same time fight in their armies and stay at home
and make bread for them. And this being known
and remembered, we can have but little concern
whether they become soldiers or not. I am
rather in favor of the measure, and would at any
time,, if I could, have loaned them a vote to carry
it. We have to reach the bottom of the insur-
gent resources ; and that they employ, or seriously
think of employing, the slaves as soldiers, gives
us glimpses of the bottom. Therefore I am glad
of what we learn on this subject.
Speech on the Reconstruction of the Southern
States.
On April 11, 1865, two days after the surrender of
General Lee at Appomattox, President Lincoln de-
livered what proved to be his last public address. It
dealt with the reconstruction of the governments of
the Southern States, especially of Louisiana.
We meet this evening not in sorrow, but in
gladness of heart. The evacuation of Petersburg
and Richmond, and the surrender of the princi-
pal insurgent army, give hope of a righteous and
speedy peace, whose joyous expression cannot be
restrained. In the midst of this, however, He
from whom all blessings flow must not be for-
gotten. A call for a national thanksgiving is be-
ing prepared, and will be duly promulgated. Nor
must those whose harder part gives us the cause
of rejoicing be overlooked. Their honors must
228 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Apr. n
not be parceled out with others. I myself was
near the front, and had the high pleasure of trans-
mitting much of the good news to you; but no
part of the honor for plan or execution is mine.
To General Grant, his skilful officers and brave
men, all belongs. The gallant navy stood ready,
but was not in reach to take active part.
By these recent successes the reinauguration of
the national authority — reconstruction — which
has had a large share of thought from the first, is
pressed much more closely upon our attention.
It is fraught with great difficulty. Unlike a case
of war between independent nations, there is no
authorized organ for us to treat with — no one
man has authority to give up the rebellion for
any other man. We simply must begin with and
mold from disorganized and discordant elements.
Nor is it a small additional embarrassment that
we, the loyal people, differ among ourselves as to
the mode, manner, and measure of reconstruc-
tion. As a general rule, I abstain from reading
the reports of attacks upon myself, wishing not
to be provoked by that to which I cannot properly
offer an answer. In spite of this precaution, how-
ever, it comes to my knowledge that I am much
censured for some supposed agency in setting up
and seeking to sustain the new State government
of Louisiana.
In this I have done just so much as, and no
more than, the public knows. In the annual mes-
sage of December, 1863, and in the accompany-
ing proclamation, I presented a plan of recon-
struction, as the phrase goes, which I promised,
if adopted by any State, should be acceptable to
and sustained by the executive government of the
nation. I distinctly stated that this was not the
i865] ON RECONSTRUCTION 229
only plan which might possibly be acceptable, and
I also distinctly protested that the executive
claimed no right to say when or whether members
should be admitted to seats in Congress from
such States. This plan was in advance submitted
to the then Cabinet, and distinctly approved by
every member of it. One of them suggested that
I should then and in that connection apply the
Emancipation Proclamation to the theretofore ex-
cepted parts of Virginia and Louisiana ; that I
should drop the suggestion about apprenticeship
for freed people, and that I should omit the pro-
test against my own power in regard to the ad-
mission of members to Congress. But even he
approved every part and parcel of the plan which
has since been employed or touched by the action
of Louisiana.
The new constitution of Louisiana, declaring
emancipation for the whole State, practically
applies the proclamation to the part previously
excepted. It does not adopt apprenticeship for
freed people, and it is silent, as it could not well
be otherwise, about the admission of members to
Congress. So that, as it applies to Louisiana,
every member of the Cabinet fully approved the
plan. The message went to Congress, and I re-
ceived many commendations of the plan, written
and verbal, and not a single objection to it from
any professed emancipationist came to my knowl-
edge until after the news reached Washington
that the people of Louisiana had begun to move
in accordance with it. From about July, 1862, I
had corresponded with different persons supposed
to be interested [in] seeking a reconstruction of
a State government for Louisiana. When the
message of 1863, with the plan before mentioned,
230 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Apr. u
reached New Orleans, General Banks wrote me
that he was confident that the people, with his
military cooperation, would reconstruct substan-
tially on that plan. I wrote to him and some
of them to try it. They tried it, and the result
is known. Such has been my only agency in
getting up the Louisiana government.
As to sustaining it, my promise is out, as be-
fore stated. But as bad promises are better
broken than kept, I shall treat this as a bad
promise, and break it whenever I shall be con-
vinced that keeping it is adverse to the public
interest ; but I have not yet been so convinced. I
have been shown a letter on this subject, supposed
to be an able one, in which the writer expresses
regret that my mind has not seemed to be defi-
nitely fixed on the question whether the seceded
States, so called, are in the Union or out of it.
It would perhaps add astonishment to his regret
were he to learn that since I have found professed
Union men endeavoring to make that question,
I have purposely forborne any public expression
upon it. As appears to me, that question has
not been, nor yet is, a practically material one,
and that any discussion of it, while it thus re-
mains practically immaterial, could have no effect
other than the mischievous one of dividing our
friends. As yet, whatever it may hereafter be-
come, that question is bad as the basis of a con-
troversy, and good for nothing at all — a merely
pernicious abstraction.
We all agree that the seceded States, so called,
are out of their proper practical relation with the
Union, and that the sole object of the govern-
ment, civil and military, in regard to those States
is to again get them into that proper practical
1865] ON RECONSTRUCTION 231
relation. I believe that it is not only possible, but
in fact easier, to do this without deciding or even
considering whether these States have ever been
out of the Union, than with it. Finding them-
selves safely at home, it would be utterly imma-
terial whether they had ever been abroad. Let
us all join in doing the acts necessary to restor-
ing the proper practical relations between these
States and the Union, and each forever after in-
nocently indulge his own opinion whether in do-
ing the acts he brought the States from without
into the Union, or only gave them proper assist-
ance, they never having been out of it. The
amount of constituency, so to speak, on which
the new Louisiana government rests, would be
more satisfactory to all if it contained 50,000 or
30,000, or even 20,000, instead of only about
12,000, as it does. It is also unsatisfactory to
some that the elective franchise is not given to the
colored man. I would myself prefer that it were
now conferred on the very intelligent, and on
those who serve our cause as soldiers.
Still, the question is not whether the Louisiana
government, as it stands, is quite all that is de-
sirable. The question is, will it be wiser to take
it as it is and help to improve it, or to reject and
disperse it? Can Louisiana be brought into
proper practical relation with the Union sooner
by sustaining or by discarding her new State
government? Some 12,000 voters in the here-
tofore slave State of Louisiana have sworn alle-
giance to the Union, assumed to be the right-
ful political power of the State, held elections, or-
ganized a State government, adopted a free-State
constitution, giving the benefit of public schools
equally to black and white, and empowering the
232
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES [Apr. n
legislature to confer the elective franchise upon
the colored man. Their legislature has already
voted to ratify the constitutional amendment
recently passed by Congress, abolishing slavery
throughout the nation. These 12,000 persons are
thus fully committed to the Union and to perpet-
ual freedom in the State — committed to the very
things, and nearly all the things, the nation wants
— and they ask the nation's recognition and its
assistance to make good their committal.
Now, if we reject and spurn them, we do our
utmost to disorganize and disperse them. We, in
effect, say to the white man : You are worthless
or worse ; we will neither help you, nor be helped
by you. To the blacks we say : This cup of lib-
erty which these, your old masters, hold to your
lips we will dash from you, and leave you to
the chances of gathering the spilled and scattered
contents in some vague and undefined when,
where, and how. If this course, discouraging
and paralyzing both white and black, has any
tendency to bring Louisiana into proper practical
relations with the Union, I have so far been un-
able to perceive it. If, on the contrary, we recog-
nize and sustain the new government of Louisi-
ana, the converse of all this is made true. We
encourage the hearts and nerve the arms of the
12,000 to adhere to their work, and argue for it,
and proselyte for it, and fight for it, and feed it,
and grow it, and ripen it to a complete success.
The colored man, too, in seeing all united for
him, is inspired with vigilance, and energy, and
daring, to the same end. Grant that he desires
the elective franchise, will he not attain it sooner
by saving the already advanced steps toward it
than by running backward over them ? Concede
i865] ON RECONSTRUCTION 233
that the new government of Louisiana is only
to what it should be as the egg is to the fowl,
we shall sooner have the fowl by hatching the
egg than by smashing it.
Again, if we reject Louisiana we also reject
one vote in favor of the proposed amendment to
the national Constitution. To meet this proposi-
tion it has been argued that no more than three-
fourths of those States which have not attempted
secession are necessary to validly ratify the
amendment. I do not commit myself against this
further than to say that such a ratification would
be questionable, and sure to be persistently ques-
tioned, while a ratification by three-fourths of all
the States would be unquestioned and unques-
tionable. I repeat the question : Can Louisiana be
brought into proper practical relation with the
Union sooner by sustaining or by discarding her
new State government? What has been said of
Louisiana will apply generally to other States.
And yet so great peculiarities pertain to each
State, and such important and sudden changes
occur in the same State, and withal so new and
unprecedented is the whole case that no exclu-
sive and inflexible plan can safely be prescribed
as to details and collaterals. Such exclusive and
inflexible plan would surely become a new en-
tanglement. Important principles may and must
be inflexible. In the present situation, as the
phrase goes, it may be my duty to make some new
announcement to the people of the South. I am
considering, and shall not fail to act when satis-
fied that action will be proper.
Conversations and Anecdotes
Reported by F. B. Carpenter in his "Six Months at the
White House with Abraham Lincoln "
CONVERSATIONS AND
ANECDOTES
By F. B. Carpenter.
From February to August, 1864, the artist F. B.
Carpenter was an occupant of the Executive Mansion
engaged in painting his masterpiece, "The First Read-
ing of the Emancipation Proclamation before the
Cabinet." He had many conversations with the Presi-
dent, heard many stories told by him and more told of
him, and witnessed numerous incidents that revealed
in a striking way the personality of the "First Ameri-
can." These he gathered together and published
shortly after the death of Lincoln, in a volume entitled
"Six Months at the White House with Abraham Lin-
coln." The best of these conversations and anecdotes
are here reproduced.
The History of the Emancipation Procla-
mation.
The appointed hour found me at the well-
remembered door of the official chamber, — that
door watched daily, with so many conflicting emo-
tions of hope and fear, by the anxious throng
regularly gathered there. The President had pre-
ceded me, and was already deep in Acts of Con-
gress, with which the writing-desk was strewed,
awaiting his signature. He received me pleas-
antly, giving me a seat near his own arm-chair;
and after having read Air. Lovejoy's note, he
237
238 ANECDOTES
took off his spectacles, and said, "Well, Mr.
C , we will turn you in loose here, and try-
to give you a good chance to work out your
idea." Then, without paying much attention to
the enthusiastic expression of my ambitious de-
sire and purpose, he proceeded to give me a
detailed account of the history and issue of the
great proclamation.
"It had got to be," said he, "midsummer, 1862.
Things had gone on from bad to worse, until
I felt that we had reached the end of our rope
on the plan of operations we had been pursuing ;
that we had about played our last card, and must
change our tactics, or lose the game! I now
determined upon the adoption of the emancipa-
tion policy; and, without consultation with, or
the knowledge of the Cabinet, I prepared the
original draft of the proclamation, and, after
much anxious thought, called a Cabinet meet-
ing upon the subject. This was the last of
July, or the first part of the month of August,
1862." (The exact date he did not remember.)
"This Cabinet meeting took place, I think, upon
a Saturday. All were present, excepting Mr.
Blair, the Postmaster-General, who was absent
at the opening of the discussion, but came in
subsequently. I said to the Cabinet that I had
resolved upon this step, and had not called them
together to ask their advice, but to lay the sub-
ject-matter of a proclamation before them; sug-
gestions as to which would be in order, after
they had heard it read. Mr. Lovejoy," said he,
"was in error when he informed you that it ex-
cited no comment, excepting on the part of Sec-
retary Seward. Various suggestions were of-
fered. Secretary Chase wished the language
EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 239
stronger in reference to the arming of the blacks.
Mr. Blair, after he came in, deprecated the policy,
on the ground that it would cost the Admin-
istration the fall elections. Nothing, however,
was offered that I had not already fully antici-
pated and settled in my own mind, until Sec-
retary Seward spoke. He said in substance :
'Mr. President, I approve of the proclamation,
but I question the expediency of its issue at this
juncture. The depression of the public mind,
consequent upon our repeated reverses, is so
great that I fear the effect of so important a
step. It may be viewed as the last measure of
an exhausted government, a cry for help; the
government stretching forth its hands to Ethio-
pia, instead of Ethiopia stretching forth her hands
to the government.' His idea," said the Presi-
dent, "was that it would be considered our last
shriek, on the retreat." (This was his precise
expression.) " ' Now/ continued Mr. Seward,
'while I approve the measure, I suggest, sir, that
you postpone its issue, until you can give it to
the country supported by military success, instead
of issuing it, as would be the case now, upon
the greatest disasters of the war !' ' Mr. Lin-
coln continued: "The wisdom of the view of
the Secretary of State struck me with very great
force. It was an aspect of the case that, in all
my thought upon the subject, I had entirely over-
looked. The result was that I put the draft of
the proclamation aside, as you do your sketch
for a picture, waiting for a victory. From time
to time I added or changed a line, touching it
up here and there, anxiously watching the prog-
ress of events. Well, the next news we had was
of Pope's disaster, at Bull Run. Things looked
240 ANECDOTES
darker than ever. Finally, came the week of
the battle of Antietam. I determined to wait
no longer. The news came, I think, on Wednes-
day, that the advantage was on our side. I was
then staying at the Soldiers' Home (three miles
out of Washington). Here I finished writing
the second draft of the preliminary proclama-
tion; came up on Saturday; called the Cabinet
together to hear it, and it was published the fol-
lowing Monday."
At the final meeting of September 20th, an-
other interesting incident occurred in connection
with Secretary Seward. The President had writ-
ten the important part of the proclamation in
these words : —
"That, on the first day of January, in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within
any State or designated part of a State, the peo-
ple whereof shall then be in rebellion against
the United States, shall be then, thenceforward,
and forever free; and the Executive Govern-
ment of the United States, including the military
and naval authority thereof, will recognize the
freedom of such persons, and will do no act or
acts to repress such persons, or any of them,
in any efforts they may make for their actual
freedom." "When I finished reading this para-
graph," resumed Mr. Lincoln, "Mr. Seward
stopped me, and said, T think, Mr. President,
that you should insert after the word "recognize,"
in that sentence, the words "and maintain." ' I
replied that I had already fully considered the
import of that expression in this connection, but
I had not introduced it, because it was not my
way to promise what I was not entirely sure
EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 241
that I could perform, and I was not prepared to
say that I thought we were exactly able to 'main-
tain' this."
"But," said he, "Seward insisted that we ought
to take this ground; and the words finally went
in !"
"It is a somewhat remarkable fact," he sub-
sequently remarked, "that there were just one
hundred days between the dates of the two proc-
lamations issued upon the 22A of September and
the 1 st of January. I had not made the calcu-
lation at the time."
Signing the Emancipation Proclamation.
The final Proclamation was signed on New-
Year's Day, 1863. The President remarked to
Mr. Colfax, the same evening, that the signature
appeared somewhat tremulous and uneven.
"Not," said he, "because of any uncertainty or
hesitation on my part; but it was just after the
public reception, and three hours' hand-shaking
is not calculated to improve a man's chirogra-
phy." Then changing his tone, he added : "The
South had fair warning, that if they did not
return to their duty, I should strike at this pillar
of their strength. The promise must now be
kept, and I shall never recall one word."
I remember to have asked him, on one occa-
sion, if there was not some opposition manifested
on the part of several members of the Cabinet
to this policy. He replied, "Nothing more than
I have stated to you. Mr. Blair thought we
should lose the fall elections, and opposed it on
that ground only." "I have understood," said I,
"that Secretary Smith was not in favor of your
242 ANECDOTES
action. Mr. Blair told me that, when the meet-
ing closed, he and the Secretary of the Interior
went away together, and that the latter said to
him, if the President carried out that policy, he
might count on losing Indiana, sure!" "He
never said anything of the kind to me," returned
the President. "And what is Mr. Blair's opinion
now?" I asked. "Oh," was the prompt reply,
"he proved right in regard to the fall elections,
but he is satisfied that we have since gained more
than we lost." "I have been told," I added, "that
Judges Bates doubted the constitutionality of the
proclamation." "He never expressed such an
opinion in my hearing," replied Mr. Lincoln.
"No member of the Cabinet ever dissented from
the policy, in any conversation with me."
Mr. Chase told me that at the Cabinet meet-
ing, immediately after the battle of Antietam,
and just prior to the issue of the September
Proclamation, the President entered upon the
business before them, by saying that "the time
for the annunciation of the emancipation policy
could be no longer delayed. Public sentiment,"
he thought, "would sustain it — many of his
warmest friends and supporters demanded it —
and he had promised his God that he would
do it!" The last part of this was uttered in
a low tone, and appeared to be heard by no one
but Secretary Chase, who was sitting near him.
He asked the President if he correctly under-
stood him. Mr. Lincoln replied: "I made a
solemn vow before God, that if General Lee was
driven back from Pennsylvania, I would crown
the result by the declaration of freedom to the
slaves/'
In February, 1865, a few days after the pas-
INTERVIEW WITH THOMPSON 243
sage of the "Constitutional Amendment," I went
to Washington, and was received by Mr. Lin-
coln with the kindness and familiarity which had
characterized our previous intercourse. I said
to him at this time that I was very proud to have
been the artist to have first conceived of the
design of painting a picture commemorative of
the Act of Emancipation ; that subsequent occur-
rences had only confirmed my own first judg-
ment of that act as the most sublime moral event
in our history. "Yes," said he, — and never do I
remember to have noticed in him more earnest-
ness of expression or manner, — "as affairs have
turned, it is the central act of my administration,
and the great event of the nineteenth century/'
Interview with George Thompson.
Mr. George Thompson, the English anti-slav-
ery orator, delivered an address in the House
of Representatives, to a large audience, April
6th, 1864. Among the distinguished persons
present was President Lincoln, who was greatly
interested. The following morning, Mr. Thomp-
son and party, consisting of Rev. John Pierpont,
Oliver Johnson, formerly President of the Anti-
Slavery Society of New York, and the Hon.
Lewis Clephane, of Washington, called at the
White House. The President was alone when
their names were announced, with the exception
of myself. Dropping all business, he ordered
the party to be immediately admitted. Greeting
them very cordially, the gentlemen took seats,
and Mr. Thompson commenced conversation by
referring to the condition of public sentiment in
England in regard to the great conflict the na-
244
ANECDOTES
tion was passing through. He said the aristoc-
racy and the "money interest" were desirous of
seeing the Union broken up, but that the great
heart of the masses beat in sympathy with the
North. They instinctively felt that the cause
of liberty was bound up with our success in
putting down the Rebellion, and the struggle was
being watched with the deepest anxiety.
Mr. Lincoln thereupon said: "Mr. Thompson,
the people of Great Britain, and of other foreign
governments, were in one great error in refer-
ence to this conflict. They seemed to think that,
the moment I was President, I had the power
to abolish slavery, forgetting that before I could
have any power whatever, I had to take the oath
to support the Constitution of the United States,
and execute the laws as I found them. When
the Rebellion broke out, my duty did not admit
of a question. That was, first, by all strictly
lawful means to endeavor to maintain the integ-
rity of the government. I did not consider that
I had a right to touch the 'State' institution of
'Slavery' until all other measures for restoring
the Union had failed. The paramount idea of
the constitution is the preservation of the Union.
It may not be specified in so many words, but
that this was the idea of its founders is evi-
dent; for, without the Union, the constitution
would be worthless. It seems clear, then, that
in the last extremity, if any local institution
threatened the existence of the Union, the Ex-
ecutive could not hesitate as to his duty. In
our case, the moment came when I felt that
slavery must die that the nation might live ! I
sometimes used the illustration in this connec-
tion of a man with a diseased limb, and his sur-
THREATS OF ASSASSINATION 245
geon. So long as there is a chance of the pa-
tient's restoration, the surgeon is solemnly bound
to try to save both life and limb; but when the
crisis comes, and the limb must be sacrificed as
the only chance of saving the life, no honest man
will hesitate.
"Many of my strongest supporters urged
Emancipation before I thought it indispensable,
and, I may say, before I thought the country
ready for it. It is my conviction that, had the
proclamation been issued even six months ear-
lier than it was, public sentiment would not
have sustained it. Just so, as to the subsequent
action in reference to enlisting blacks in the Bor-
der States. The step, taken sooner, could not, in
my judgment, have been carried out. A man
watches his pear-tree day after dav, impatient
for the ripening of the fruit. Let him attempt
to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit
and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the
ripe pear at length falls into his lap ! We have
seen this great revolution in public sentiment
slowly but surely progressing, so that, when final
action came, the opposition was not strong
enough to defeat the purpose. I can now sol-
emnly assert," he concluded, ''that I have a clear
conscience in regard to my action on this mo-
mentous question. I have done what no man
could have helped doing, standing in my place."
On Threats of Assassination.
On the way to the sculptor's studio a conver-
sation occurred of much significance, in view of
the terrible tragedy so soon to paralyze every
loyal heart in the nation. A late number of the
246 ANECDOTES
New York Tribune had contained an account
from a correspondent within the Rebel lines, of
an elaborate conspiracy, matured in Richmond, to
abduct, or assassinate — if the first was not found
practicable — the person of the President. A se-
cret organization, composed, it was stated, of
five hundred or a thousand men, had solemnly-
sworn to accomplish the deed. Mr. Lincoln had
not seen or heard of this account, and at his
request, I gave him the details. Upon the con-
clusion, he smiled incredulously, and said : "Well,
even if true, I do not see what the Rebels would
gain by killing or getting possession of me. I
am but a single individual, and it would not
help their cause or make the least difference in
the progress of the war. Everything would go
right on just the same. Soon after I was nomi-
nated at Chicago, I began to receive letters
threatening my life. The first one or two made
me a little uncomfortable, but I came at length
to look for a regular instalment of this kind of
correspondence in every week's mail, and up to
inauguration day I was in constant receipt of
such letters. It is no uncommon thing to receive
them now ; but they have ceased to give me any
apprehension." I expressed some surprise at
this, but he replied in his peculiar way, "Oh,
there is nothing like getting used to things !"
In reply to the remonstrances of friends, who
were afraid of his constant exposure to dan-
ger, he had but one answer: "If they kill me,
the next man will be just as bad for them; and
in a country like this, where our habits are sim-
ple, and must be, assassination is always possi-
ble, and will come, if they are determined upon
it."
LINCOLN'S CRITICS 247
A cavalry guard was once placed at the gates
of the White House for a while, and he said,
privately, that "he worried until he got rid of
it."
Considering the many open and secret threats
to take his life, it is not surprising that Mr. Lin-
coln had many thoughts about his coming to a
sudden and violent end. He once said that he
felt the force of the expression, "To take one's
life in his hand"; but that he would not like to
face death suddenly. He said that he thought
himself a great coward physically, and was sure
that he would make a poor soldier, for, unless
there was something inspiriting in the excitement
of a battle, he was sure that he would drop his
gun and run, at the first symptom of danger.
That was said sportively, and he added, "Moral
cowardice is something which I think I never
had."
On Critics of the Administration.
At the White House one day some gentLmen
were present from the West, excited and trou-
bled about the commissions or omissions of the
Administration. The President heard them pa-
tiently, and then replied : "Gentlemen, suppose
all the property you were worth was in gold, and
you had put it in the hands of Blondin to carry
across the Niagara River on a rope, would you
shake the cable, or keep shouting out to him,
'Blondin, stand up a little straighter — Blondin,
stoop a little more — go a little faster — lean a little
more to the north — lean a Httle more to the
south.' No, you would hold your breath as
well as your tongue, and keep your hands off
248 ANECDOTES
until he was safe over. The Government are
carrying an immense weight. Untold treasures
are in their hands. They are doing the very best
they can. Don't badger them. Keep silence,
and we'll get you safe across."
The President was once speaking of an attack
made on him by the Committee on the Conduct
of the War, for a certain alleged blunder, or
something worse, in the Southwest — the matter
involved being one which had fallen directly
under the observation of the officer to whom he
was talking, who possessed official evidence com-
pletely upsetting all the conclusions of the Com-
mittee.
''Might it not be well for me," queried the
officer, "to set this matter right in a letter to
some paper, stating the facts as they actually
transpired?"
"Oh, no," replied the President, "at least, not
now. If I were to try to read, much less an-
swer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might
as well be closed for any other business. I do
the very best I know how — the very best I can;
and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If
the end brings me out all right, what is said
against me won't amount to anything. If the
end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing
I was right would make no difference."
At one of the "levees," in the winter of 1864,
during a lull in the hand-shaking, Mr. Lincoln
was addressed by two lady friends, one of whom
is the wife of a gentleman subsequently called
into the Cabinet. Turning to them with a weary
air, he remarked that it was a relief to have
now and then those to talk to who had no favors
to ask. The lady referred to is a radical, — a
LINCOLN'S CRITICS 249
New Yorker by birth, but for many years a
resident of the West. She replied, playfully,
"Mr. President, I have one request to make."
"Ah !" said he, at once looking grave. "Well,
what is it?" "That you suppress the infamous
Chicago Times/' was the rejoinder. After a
brief pause, Air. Lincoln asked her if she had
ever tried to imagine how she would have felt,
in some former administration to which she was
opposed, if her favorite newspaper had been
seized by the government, and suppressed. The
lady replied that it was not a parallel case; that
in circumstances like those then existing, when
the nation was struggling for its very life, such
utterances as were daily put forth in that journal
should be suppressed by the strong hand of au-
thority; that the cause of loyalty and good gov-
ernment demanded it. "I fear you do not fully
comprehend," returned the President, "the dan-
ger of abridging the liberties of the people. Noth-
ing but the very sternest necessity can ever jus-
tify it. A government had better go to the very
extreme of toleration, than to do aught that
could be construed into an interference with, or
to jeopardize in any degree, the common rights
of its citizens."
It was, perhaps, in connection with the news-
paper attacks, that Mr. Lincoln told, during the
sitting, this story : "A traveller on the frontier
found himself out of his reckoning one night
in a most inhospitable region. A terrific thunder-
storm came up, to add to his trouble. He flound-
ered along until his horse at length gave out.
The lightning afforded him the only clew to his
way, but the peals of thunder were frightful.
One bolt, which seemed to crash the earth be-
250 ANECDOTES
neath him, brought him to his knees. By no
means a praying man, his petition was short and
to the point, — 'O Lord, if it is all the same to
you, give us a little more light and a little less
noise !' "
Lincoln at the Soldiers' Home.
"The Soldiers' Home," writes a California
lady,* who visited Mr. Lincoln there, "is a few
miles out of Washington on the Maryland side.
It is situated on a beautifully wooded hill, which
you ascend by a winding path, shaded on both
sides by wide-spread branches, forming a green
arcade above you. When you reach the top you
stand between two mansions, large, handsome,
and substantial, but with nothing about them in-
dicative of the character of either. That on your
left is the Presidential country-house; that di-
rectly before you, the 'Rest' for soldiers who
are too old for further service. . . .
"Around the 'Home' grows every variety of
tree, particularly of the evergreen class. Their
branches brushed into the carriage as we passed
along, and left with us that pleasant, woody smell
belonging to leaves. One of the ladies, catching
a bit of green from one of these intruding branch-
es, said it was cedar, and another thought it
spruce.
" 'Let me discourse on a theme I understand/
said the President. T know all about trees in
right of being a backwoodsman. I'll show you
the difference between spruce, pine, and cedar,
and this shred of green, which is neither one nor
* In the San Francisco Bulletin.
AT SOLDIERS' HOME 251
the other, but a kind of illegitimate cypress/ He
then proceeded to gather specimens of each, and
explain the distinctive formation of foliage be-
longing to every species. 'Trees,' he said, 'are
as deceptive in their likeness to one another as
are certain classes of men, amongst whom none
but a physiognomist's eye can detect dissimilar
moral features until events have developed them.
Do you know it would be a good thing if in all
the schools proposed and carried out by the im-
provement of modern thinkers, we could have a
school of events ?'
" 'A school of events ?' repeated the lady he
addressed.
" 'Yes,' he continued, 'since it is only by that
active development that character and ability can
be tested. Understand me, I now mean men,
not trees ; they can be tried, and an analysis of
their strength obtained less expensive to life and
human interests than man's. What I say now is
a mere whimsey, you know; but when I speak
of a school of events, I mean one in which, be-
fore entering real life, students might pass
through the mimic vicissitudes and situations
that are necessary to bring out their powers and
mark the caliber to which they are assigned.
Thus, one could select from the graduates an
invincible soldier, equal to any position, with
no such word as fail ; a martyr to Right, ready
to give up life in the cause ; a politician too cun-
ning to be outwitted; and so on. These things
have all to be tried, and their sometime failure
creates confusion as well as disappointment.
There is no more dangerous or expensive analy-
sis than that which consists of trying a man.'
" 'Do you think all men are tried ?' was asked.
252 'ANECDOTES
'' 'Scarcely/ said Mr. Lincoln, 'or so many
would not fit their place so badly. Your friend,
Mr. Beecher, being an eloquent man, explains
this well in his quaint illustration of people out
of their sphere, — the clerical faces he has met
with in gay, rollicking life, and the natural wits
and good brains that have by a freak dropped
into ascetic robes.'
;< 'Some men seem able to do what they wish
in any position, being equal to them all,' said
some one.
' 'Versatility,' replied the President, 'is an in-
jurious possession, since it never can be great-
ness. It misleads you in your calculations from
its very agreeability, and it inevitably disappoints
you in any great trust from its want of depth.
A versatile man, to be safe from execration,
should never soar; mediocrity is sure of detec-
tion.'
On Shakspeare.
Presently the conversation turned upon Shak-
speare, of whom it is well known Mr. Lincoln
was very fond. He once remarked, "It matters
not to me whether Shakspeare be well or ill
acted; with him the thought suffices." Edwin
Booth was playing an engagement at this time
at Grover's Theatre. He had been announced
for the coming evening in his famous part of
Hamlet. The President had never witnessed
his representation of this character, and he pro-
posed being present. The mention of this play,
which I afterward learned had at all times a
peculiar charm for Mr. Lincoln's mind, waked
up a train of thought I was not prepared for.
ON SHAKSPEARE 253
Said he, — and his words have often returned
to me with a sad interest since his own assassi-
nation,— "There is one passage of the play of
'Hamlet' which is very apt to be slurred over
by the actor, or omitted altogether, which seems
to me the choicest part of the play. It is the
soliloquy of the king, after the murder. It al-
ways struck me as one of the finest touches of
nature in the world."
Then, throwing himself into the very spirit
of the scene, he took up the words : —
"O my offence is rank, it smells to heaven ;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon 't."
He repeated this entire passage from mem-
ory, with a feeling and appreciation unsurpassed
by anything I ever witnessed upon the stage.
Remaining in thought for a few moments, he
continued : —
"The opening of the play of 'King Richard
the Third' seems to me often entirely misappre-
hended. It is quite common for an actor to come
upon the stage, and, in a sophomoric style, to
begin with a flourish : —
" 'Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York,
And all the clouds that lowered upon our house,
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried !'
Now," said he, "this is all wrong. Richard, you
remember, had been, and was then, plotting the
destruction of his brothers, to make room for
himself. Outwardly, the most loyal to the newly
crowned king, secretly he could scarcely contain
his impatience at the obstacles still in the way
of his own elevation. He appears upon the stage.
254
ANECDOTES
just after the crowning of Edward, burning witK
repressed hate and jealousy. The prologue is
the utterance of the most intense bitterness and
satire."
Then, unconsciously assuming the character,
Mr. Lincoln repeated, also from memory, Rich-
ard's soliloquy, rendering it with a degree of
force and power that made it seem like a new
creation to me. Though familiar with the pas-
sage from boyhood, I can truly say that never
till that moment had I fully appreciated its spirit.
I could not refrain from laying down my palette
and brushes, and applauding heartily, upon his
conclusion, saying, at the same time, half in ear-
nest, that I was not sure but that he had made
a mistake in the choice of a profession, consid-
erably, as may be imagined, to his amusement.
Mr. Sinclair has since repeatedly said to me
that he never heard these choice passages of
Shakspeare rendered with more effect by the
most famous of modern actors.
Lincoln's Purity of Heart.
Mr. Lincoln, I am convinced, has been greatly
wronged in this respect [enjoyment of salacious
stories]. Every foul-mouthed man in the coun-
try gave currency to the slime and filth of his
own imagination by attributing it to the Presi-
dent. It is but simple justice to his memory
that I should state, that during the entire period
of my stay in Washington, after witnessing his
intercourse with nearly all classes of men, em-
bracing governors, senators, members of Con-
gress, officers of the army, and intimate friends,
I cannot recollect to have heard him relate a
LINCOLN'S TENDERNESS 255
circumstance to any one of them, which would
have been out of place uttered in a ladies' draw-
ing-room. And this testimony is not unsup-
ported by that of others, well entitled to consid-
eration. Dr. Stone, his family physician, came
in one day to see my studies. Sitting in front of
that of the President, — with whom he did not
sympathize politically, — he remarked, with much
feeling, "It is the province of a physician to
probe deeply the interior lives of men; and I
affirm that Mr. Lincoln is the purest hearted man
with whom I ever came in contact." Secretary
Seward, who of the Cabinet officers was proba-
bly most intimate with the President, expressed
the same sentiment in still stronger language.
He once said to the Rev. Dr. Bellows : "Mr.
Lincoln is the best man I ever knew !"
Lincoln's Tenderness of Heart.
Referring to Mr. Lincoln's never-failing fund
of anecdote, Judge Bates, Attorney-General, re-
marked, "The character of the President's mind
is such that his thought habitually takes on this
form of illustration, by which the point he wishes
to enforce is invariably brought home with a
strength and clearness impossible in hours of ab-
stract argument. Mr. Lincoln," he added, "comes
very near being a perfect man, according to my
ideal of manhood. He lacks but one thing."
Looking up from my palette, I asked, musingly,
if this was official dignity as President. "No,"
replied Judge Bates, "that is of little consequence.
His deficiency is in the element of will. I have
sometimes told him, for instance, that he was
unfit to be intrusted with the pardoning power.
256 ANECDOTES
Why, if a man comes to him with a touching
story, his judgment is almost certain to be af-
fected by it. Should the applicant be a woman,
a wife, a mother, or a sister, — in nine cases out
of ten, her tears, if nothing else, are sure to
prevail."
Lincoln the Pardoner.
The opinion of the Attorney-General, Judge
Bates, as to the safety of Mr. Lincoln's being
intrusted with the pardoning power, was founded
upon an intimate knowledge of the man. A
nature of such tenderness and humanity would
have been in danger of erring on what many
would call the weak side, had it not been bal-
anced by an unusual degree of strong practical
good sense and judgment.
The Secretary of War, and generals in com-
mand, were frequently much annoyed at being
overruled, — the discipline and efficiency of the
service being thereby, as they considered, greatly
endangered. But there was no going back of
the simple signature, "A. Lincoln," attached to
proclamation or reprieve.
The Hon. Mr. Kellogg, representative from Es-
sex County, New York, received a despatch one
evening from the army, to the effect that a young
townsman, who had been induced to enlist
through his instrumentality, had, for a serious
misdemeanor, been convicted by a court-martial,
and was to be shot the next day. Greatly agi-
tated, Mr. Kellogg went to the Secretary of War,
and urged, in the strongest manner, a reprieve.
Stanton was inexorable. ''Too many cases of the
kind had been let off," he said ; "and it was time
LINCOLN THE PARDONER 257
an example was made." Exhausting his elo-
quence in vain, Mr. Kellogg said, — "Well, Mr.
Secretary, the boy is not going to be shot, —
of that I give you fair warning !" Leaving the
War Department, he went directly to the White
House, although the hour was late. The senti-
nel on duty told him that special orders had
been issued to admit no one whatever that night.
After a long parley, by pledging himself to as-
sume the responsibility of the act, the congress-
man passed in. The President had retired; but,
indifferent to etiquette or ceremony, Judge Kel-
logg pressed his way through all obstacles to
his sleeping apartment. In an excited manner
he stated that the despatch announcing the hour
of execution had but just reached him. "This
man must not be shot, Mr. President," said he.
"I can't help what he may have done. Why,
he is an old neighbor of mine ; I can't allow him
to be shot !" Mr. Lincoln had remained in bed,
quietly listening to the vehement protestations
of his old friend (they were in Congress to-
gether). He at length said: "Well, I don't be-
lieve shooting him will do him any good. Give
me that pen." And, so saying, "red tape" was
unceremoniously cut, and another poor fellow's
lease of life was indefinitely extended.
One night Speaker Colfax left all other busi-
ness to ask the President to respite the son of
a constituent, who was sentenced to be shot, at
Davenport, for desertion. He heard the story
with his usual patience, though he was wearied
out with incessant calls, and anxious for rest, and
then replied : "Some of our generals complain
that I impair discipline and subordination in the
army by my pardons and respites, but it makes
258 ANECDOTES
me rested, after a hard day's work, if I can find
some good excuse for saving a man's life, and
I go to bed happy as I think how joyous the
signing of my name will make him and his fam-
ily and his friends."
Mr. Van Alen, of New York, in an account
furnished the Evening Post, wrote : "I well
remember the case of a poor woman who sought,
with the persistent affection of a mother, for the
pardon of her son condemned to death. She
was successful in her petition. When she had
left the room, Mr. Lincoln turned to me and
said : 'Perhaps I have done wrong, but at all
events I have made that poor woman happy.' ':
The Hon. Thaddeus Stevens told me that on
one occasion he called at the White House with
an elderly lady, in great trouble, whose son had
been in the army, but for some offence had been
court-martialled, and sentenced either to death,
or imprisonment at hard labor for a long term.
There were some extenuating circumstances ;
and after a full hearing, the President turned
to the representative, and said : "Mr. Stevens,
do you think this is a case which will warrant
my interference?" "With my knowledge of the
facts and the parties," was the reply, "I should
have no hesitation in granting a pardon."
"Then," returned Mr. Lincoln, "I will pardon
him," and he proceeded forthwith to execute the
paper. The gratitude of the mother was too
deep for expression, and not a word was said
between her and Mr. Stevens until they were
halfway down the stairs on their passage out,
when she suddenly broke forth in an excited
manner with the words, "I knew it was a copper-
head lie!" "What do you refer to, madam?"
LINCOLN THE PARDONER 259
asked Mr. Stevens. "Why, they told me he was
an ugly looking man," she replied, with vehe-
mence. "He is the handsomest man I ever saw
in my life I" And surely for that mother, and
for many another throughout the land, no carved
statue of ancient or modern art, in all its sym-
metry, can have the charm which will for ever-
more encircle that careworn but gentle face, ex-
pressing as lineaments of ruler never expressed
before, "Malice towards none — Charity for all."
The Amnesty Proclamation.
One of the party took occasion shortly to en-
dorse very decidedly the Amnesty Proclamation,
which had been severely censured by many
friends of the Administration. This approval
appeared to touch Mr. Lincoln deeply. He said,
with a great deal of emphasis, and with an ex-
pression of countenance I shall never forget,
"When a man is sincerely penitent for his mis-
deeds, and gives satisfactory evidence of the
same, he can safely be pardoned, and there is
no exception to the rule."
"The Scoundrel Will Get Off."
A couple of well-known New York gentlemen
called upon the President one day to solicit a
pardon for a man who, while acting as mate of a
sailing vessel, had struck one of his men a blow
which resulted in his death. Convicted and sen-
tenced for manslaughter, a powerful appeal was
made in his behalf, as he had previously borne
an excellent character. Giving the facts a hear-
ing, Mr. Lincoln responded: —
"Well, gentlemen, leave your papers, and I
26o ANECDOTES
will have the Attorney-General, Judge Bates,
look them over, and we will see what can be
done. Being both of us 'pigeon-hearted' fellows,
the chances are that, if there is any ground what-
ever for interference, the scoundrel will get off !"
"Public Opinion Baths."
"Once — on what was called a 'public day/
when Mr. Lincoln received all applicants in their
turn — the writer* was struck by observing, as
he passed through the corridor, the heterogeneous
crowd of men and women, representing all ranks
and classes, who were gathered in the large
waiting-room outside the Presidential suite of
offices. . . .
"This led to a somewhat general conversation,
in which I expressed surprise that he did not
adopt the plan in force at all military headquar-
ters, under which every applicant to see the
general commanding had to be filtered through
a sieve of officers, — assistant adjutant-generals,
and so forth, — who allowed none in to take up
the general's time save such as they were satisfied
had business of sufficient importance, and which
could be transacted in no other manner than by
a personal interview. . . .
" ' Ah, yes !' said Mr. Lincoln, gravely, — and
his words on this matter are important as illus-
trating a rule of his action, and to some extent,
perhaps, the essentially representative character
of his mind and of his administration, — 'ah, yes,
such things do very well for you military people,
with your arbitrary rule, and in your camps.
But the office of President is essentially a civil
* Colonel Charles G. Halpine, New York Citizen.
LINCOLN'S MAGNANIMITY 261
one, and the affair is very different. For myself,
I feel — though the tax on my time is heavy —
that no hours of my day are better employed than
those which thus bring me again within the
direct contact and atmosphere of the average of
our whole people. Men moving only in an
official circle are apt to become merely official —
not to say arbitrary — in their ideas, and are apter
and apter, with each passing day, to forget that
they only hold power in a representative capacity.
Now this is all wrong. I go into these promis-
cuous receptions of all who claim to have business
with me twice each week, and every applicant
for audience has to take his turn, as if waiting
to be shaved in a barber's shop. Many of the
matters brought to my notice are utterly frivo-
lous, but others are of more or less importance,
and all serve to renew in me a clearer and more
vivid image of that great popular assemblage
out of which I sprung, and to which at the end
of two years I must return. I tell you, Major,'
he said, — appearing at this point to recollect
I was in the room, for the former part of these
remarks had been made with half-shut eyes, as
if in soliloquy, — 'I tell you that I call these re-
ceptions my "public-opinion baths"; for I have
but little time to read the papers and gather
public opinion that way; and though they may
not be pleasant in all their particulars, the effect,
as a whole, is renovating and invigorating to
my perceptions of responsibility and duty.' ':
Lincoln's Magnanimity.
When the reports, in an authentic form, first
reached Washington of the sufferings of the
262 ANECDOTES
Union prisoners, I know he was greatly excited
and overcome by them. He was told that justice
demanded a stern retaliation. He said to his
friend Mr. Odell, with the deepest emotion :
"1 can never, 'never starve men like that!
Whatever .others may say or do, I never can,
and I never will, be accessory to such treatment
of human beings!" And although he spoke with
the deepest feeling at the Baltimore Fair of the
Fort Pillow massacre, and pledged retaliation,
yet that pledge was never carried into execution.
It was simply impossible for Mr. Lincoln to be
cruel or vindictive, no matter what the occasion.
In the serene light of history, when party strife
and bitterness shall have passed away, it will
be seen that, if he erred at all, it was always
on the side of mercy and magnanimity.
A Short Statute.
Speaking on a certain occasion, of a prominent
man who had the year before been violent in his
manifestations of hostility to the Administration,
but was then ostensibly favoring the same policy
previously denounced, Mr. Lincoln expressed his
entire readiness to treat the past as if it had not
been, saying, "I choose always to make my 'stat-
ute of limitations' a short one."
Lincoln's Treatment of Insolence.
A great deal has been said of the uniform
meekness and kindness of heart of Mr. Lin-
coln, but there would sometimes be afforded
evidence that one grain of sand too much would
break even this camel's back. Among the callers
INSOLENT VISITORS 263
at the White House one day, was an officer
who had been cashiered from the service. He
had prepared an elaborate defence of himself,
which he consumed much time in reading to the
President. When he had finished, Mr. Lincoln
replied, that even upon his own statement of
the case, the facts would not warrant executive
interference. Disappointed, and considerably
crestfallen, the man withdrew. A few days
afterward he made a second attempt to alter
the President's convictions, going over substan-
tially the same ground, and occupying about the
same space of time, but without accomplishing
his end. The third time he succeeded in forcing
himself into Mr. Lincoln's presence, who with
great forbearance listened to another repetition
of the case to its conclusion, but made no reply.
Waiting for a moment, the man gathered from
the expression of his countenance that his mind
was unconvinced. Turning very abruptly, he
said: "Well, Mr. President, I see you are fully
determined not to do me justice!" This was
too aggravating, even for Mr. Lincoln. Mani-
festing, however, no more feeling than that in-
dicated by a slight compression of the lips, he
very quietly arose, laid down a package of papers
he held in his hand, and then suddenly seizing the
cashiered officer by the coat-collar, he marched
him forcibly to the door, saying, as he ejected
him into the passage : "Sir, I give you fair warn-
ing never to show yourself in this room again.
I can bear censure, but not insult !" In a whining
tone the man begged for his papers, which he
had dropped. "Begone, sir," said the President,
"your papers will be sent to you. I never wish
to see your face again !"
264 ANECDOTES
"N. C. J.," in a letter to the New York
Tunes, gives the following incident of a re-
buke Lincoln gave a woman for her lack of
humanity :
"Among the various applicants, a well-dressed
lady came forward, without apparent embarrass-
ment in her air or manner, and addressed the
President. Giving her a very close and scrutiniz-
ing look, he said, 'Well, madam, what can I do
for you?' She proceeded to tell him that she
lived in Alexandria; that the church where she
worshiped had been taken for a hospital. 'What
church, madam?' Mr. Lincoln asked, in a quick,
nervous manner. 'The church,' she re-
plied ; 'and as there are only two or three
wounded soldiers in it, I came to see if you
would not let us have it, as we want it very
much to worship God in.' 'Madam, have you
been to see the post surgeon at Alexandria
about this matter?' 'Yes, sir; but we could do
nothing with him.' 'Well, we put him there
to attend to just such business, and it is reason-
able to suppose that he knows better what should
be done under the circumstances than I do. See
here: you say you live in Alexandria; probably
you own property there. How much will you
give to assist in building a hospital?'
" 'You know, Mr. Lincoln, our property is
very much embarrassed by the war; — so, really,
I could hardly afford to give much for such a
purpose.'
" 'Well, madam, I expect we shall have another
fight soon ; and my candid opinion is, God wants
that church for poor wounded Union soldiers,
as much as he does for secesh people to worship
in.' Turning to his table, he said, quite abruptly,
INSOLENT VISITORS 265
'You will excuse me ; I can do nothing for you.
Good-day, madam.'
"On Thursday of a certain week, two ladies,
from Tennessee, came before the President, ask-
ing the release of their husbands, held as prison-
ers of war at Johnson's Island. They were put
off until Friday, when they came again, and
were again put off until Saturday. At each of
the interviews one of the ladies urged that her
husband was a religious man. On Saturday,
when the President ordered the release of the
prisoner, he said to this lady,— 'You say your
husband is a religious man; tell him, when you
meet him, that I say I am not much of a judge
of religion, but that in my opinion the religion
which sets men to rebel and fight against their
government, because, as they think, that govern-
ment does not sufficiently help some men to eat
their bread in the sweat of other men's faces, is
not the sort of religion upon which people can
get to heaven.' "
"The Delegation from the Almighty."
On another occasion, an antislavery delegation,
also from New York, were pressing the adoption
of the emancipation policy. During the inter-
view the "chairman," the Rev. Dr. C ,
made a characteristic and powerful appeal,
largely made up of quotations from the Old
Testament Scriptures. Mr. Lincoln received the
"bombardment" in silence. As the speaker con-
cluded, he continued for a moment in thought,
and then, drawing a long breath, responded:
"Well, gentlemen, it is not often one is favored
with a delegation direct from the Almighty !"
266 ANECDOTES
On a Time-serving Clergyman.
Some one was discussing, in the presence of
Mr. Lincoln, the character of a time-serving
Washington clergyman. Said Mr. Lincoln to his
visitor : —
"I think you are rather hard upon Mr. .
He reminds me of a man in Illinois, who was
tried for passing a counterfeit bill. It was in
evidence that before passing it he had taken
it to the cashier of a bank and asked his opinion
of the bill, and he received a very prompt reply
that it was a counterfeit. His lawyer, who had
heard of the evidence to be brought against his
client, asked him, just before going into court,
'Did you take the bill to the cashier of the bank
and ask him if it was good?' 'I did,' was the
reply. 'Well, what was the reply of the cashier ?'
The rascal was in a corner, but he got out of
it in this fashion: 'He said it was a pretty tol-
erable, respectable sort of a bill.' '
Mr. Lincoln thought the clergyman was "a
pretty tolerable, respectable sort of a clergyman."
Lincoln's Paternal Love.
The Hon. W. D. Kelley, of Philadelphia, in
an address delivered in that city soon after the
assassination, said: "His intercourse with his
family was as beautiful as that with his friends.
I think that father never loved his children
more fondly than he. The President never
seemed grander in my sight than when, stealing
upon him in the evening, I would find him with
a book open before him, as he is represented
in the popular photograph, with little Tad beside
DEATH OF WILLIE LINCOLN 267
him. There were of course a great many curious
books sent to him, and it seemed to be one
of the special delights of his life to open those
books at such an hour, that his boy could stand
beside him, and they could talk as he turned
over the pages, the father thus giving to the
son a portion of that care and attention of which
he was ordinarily deprived by the duties of office
pressing upon him."
No matter who was with the President, or
how intently he might be absorbed, little Tad was
always welcome. At the time of which I write
he was eleven years old, and of course rapidly
passing from childhood into youth. Suffering
much from an infirmity of speech which de-
veloped in his infancy, he seemed on this account
especially dear to his father. "One touch of
nature makes the whole world kin," and it was
an impressive and affecting sight to me to see
the burdened President lost for the time being
in the affectionate parent, as he would take the
little fellow in his arms upon the withdrawal
of visitors, and caress him with all the fondness
of a mother for the babe upon her bosom !
The Death of Willie Lincoln.
In the spring of 1862, the President spent
several days at Fortress Monroe, awaiting mil-
itary operations upon the Peninsula. As a por-
tion of the Cabinet were with him, that was
temporarily the seat of government, and he bore
with him constantly the burden of public af-
fairs. His favorite diversion was reading Shak-
speare. One day (it chanced to be the day
before the capture of Norfolk) as he sat reading
268 ANECDOTES
alone, he called to his aide* in the adjoining
room, — "You have been writing long enough,
Colonel; come in here; I want to read you a
passage in 'Hamlet.' " He read the discussion
on ambition between Hamlet and his courtiers,
and the soliloquy in which conscience debates
of a future state. This was followed by pas-
sages from "Macbeth." Then opening to "King
John," he read from the third act the passage
in which Constance bewails her imprisoned,
lost boy.
Closing the book, and recalling the words, —
"And, father cardinal, I have heard you say
That we shall see and know our friends in heaven :
If that be true, I shall see my boy again," —
Mr. Lincoln said : "Colonel, did you ever dream
of a lost friend, and feel that you were holding
sweet communion with that friend, and yet have
a sad consciousness that it was not a reality? —
just so I dream of my boy Willie." Overcome
with emotion, he dropped his head on the table,
and sobbed aloud.
William Wallace Lincoln, I never knew. He
died Thursday, February 20, 1862, nearly two
years before my intercourse with the President
commenced. He had just entered upon his
twelfth year, and has been described to me as
of an unusually serious and thoughtful disposi-
tion. His death was the most crushing affliction
Mr. Lincoln had ever been called upon to pass
through.
After the funeral, the President resumed his^
official duties, but mechanically, and with a ter-
* Colonel Le Grand B. Cannon, of General Wool's staff.
DEATH OF WILLIE LINCOLN 269
rible weight at his heart. The following Thurs-
day he gave way to his feelings, and shut himself
from all society. The second Thursday it was
the same ; he would see no one, and seemed a
prey to the deepest melancholy. About this time
the Rev. Francis Vinton, of Trinity Church,
New York, had occasion to spend a few days in
Washington. An acquaintance of Mrs. Lincoln
and of her sister, Mrs. Edwards, of Springfield,
he was requested by them to come up and see
the President. The setting apart of Thursday
for the indulgence of his grief had gone on for
several weeks, and Mrs. Lincoln began to be
seriously alarmed for the health of her husband,
of which fact Dr. Vinton was apprised. Mr.
Lincoln received him in the parlor, and an op-
portunity was soon embraced by the clergyman
to chide him for showing so rebellious a dispo-
sition to the decrees of Providence. He told
him plainly that the indulgence of such feelings,
though natural, was sinful. It was unworthy
one who believed in the Christian religion. He
had duties to the living, greater than those of
any other man, as the chosen father, and leader
of the people, and he was unfitting himself for
his responsibilities by thus giving way to his
grief. To mourn the departed as lost belonged
to heathenism — not to Christianity. "Your son,"
said Dr. Vinton, "is alive in Paradise. Do you
remember that passage in the Gospels: 'God
is not the God of the dead but of the living, for
all live unto him' ?" The President had listened
as one in a stupor, until his ear caught the words,
"Your son is alive." Starting from the sofa,
he exclaimed, "Alive! alive! Surely you mock
me." "No, sir, believe me," replied Dr. Vinton;
270 ANECDOTES
"it is a most comforting doctrine of the church,
founded upon the words of Christ himself. "
Mr. Lincoln looked at him a moment, and then,
stepping forward, he threw his arm around the
clergyman's neck, and, laying his head upon
his breast, sobbed aloud. "Alive? alive?" he
repeated. "My dear sir," said Dr. Vinton, greatly
moved, as he twined his own arm around the
weeping father, "believe this, for it is God's
most precious truth. Seek not your son among
the dead; he is not there; he lives to-day in
Paradise ! Think of the full import of the words
I have quoted. The Sadducees, when they ques-
tioned Jesus, had no other conception than that
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were dead and buried.
Mark the reply: 'Now that the dead are raised,
even Moses showed at the bush when he called
the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not
the God of the dead, but of the living, for all
.live unto him!' Did not the aged patriarch
mourn his sons as dead? — 'JosePn is not, and
Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin also.'
But Joseph and Simeon were both living, though
he believed it not. Indeed, Joseph being taken
from him, was the eventual means of the pres-
ervation of the whole family. And so God has
called your son into his upper kingdom — a king-
dom and an existence as real, more real, than
your own. It may be that he too, like Joseph,
has gone, in God's good providence, to be the
salvation of his father's household. It is a part
of the Lord's plan for the ultimate happiness
of you and yours. Doubt it not. I have a ser-
mon," continued Dr. Vinton, "upon this subject,
which I think might interest you." Mr. Lin-
LINCOLN THE CHRISTIAN 271
coin begged him to send it at an early day —
thanking him repeatedly for his cheering and
hopeful words. The sermon was sent, and read
over and over by the President, who caused a
copy to be made for his own private use before
it was returned. Through a member of the fam-
ily, I have been informed that Mr. Lincoln's
views in relation to spiritual things seemed
changed from that hour. Certain it is, that
thenceforth he ceased the observance of the day
of the week upon which his son died, and grad-
ually resumed his accustomed cheerfulness.
Lincoln the Christian.
The Rev. Air. Willets, of Brooklyn, gave me an
account of a conversation with Air. Lincoln, on
the part of a lady of his acquaintance, connected
with the ''Christian Commission," who in the
prosecution of her duties had several interviews
with him. The President, it seemed, had been
much impressed with the devotion and earnest-
ness of purpose manifested by the lady, and on
one occasion, after she had discharged the object
of her visit, he said to her: "Mrs. , I
have formed a high opinion of your Christian
character, and now, as we are alone, I have a
mind to ask you to give me, in brief, your idea
of what constitutes a true religious experience."
The lady replied at some length, stating that,
in her judgment, it consisted of a conviction
of one's own sinfulness and weakness, and per-
sonal need of the Saviour for strength and
support ; that views of mere doctrine might and
would differ, but when one was really brought
to feel his need of Divine help, and to seek the
272 ANECDOTES
aid of the Holy Spirit for strength and guid-
ance, it was satisfactory evidence of his having
been born again. This was the substance of
her reply. When she had concluded, Mr. Lincoln
was very thoughtful for a few moments. He
at length said, very earnestly, "If what you have
told me is really a correct view of this great
subject, I think I can say with sincerity, that I
hope I am a Christian. I had lived," he con-
tinued, "until my boy Willie died, without realiz-
ing fully these things. That blow overwhelmed
me. It showed me my weakness as I had never
felt it before, and if I can take what you have
stated as a test, I think I can safely say that I
know something of that change of which you
speak ; and I will further add, that it has been
my intention for some time, at a suitable oppor-
tunity, to make a public religious profession."
Mr. Noah Brooks, in some "reminiscences,"
gives the following upon this subject :
"Just after the last Presidential election he
said, 'Being only mortal, after all, I should have
been a little mortified if I had been beaten in
this canvass ; but that sting would have been
more than compensated by the thought that the
people had notified me that all my official re-
sponsibilities were soon to be lifted off my back.'
In reply to the remark that he might remember
that in all these cares he was daily remembered
by those who prayed, not to be heard of men,
as no man had ever before been remembered,
he caught at the homely phrase, and said, 'Yes,
I like that phrase, "not to be heard of men," and
I guess it is generally true, as you say ; at least,
I have been told so, and I have been a good
deal helped by just that thought.' Then he sol-
ON THE LORD'S SIDE 273
emnly and slowly added : 'I should be the most
presumptuous blockhead upon this footstool, if
I for one day thought that I could discharge the
duties which have come upon me since I came
into this place, without the aid and enlightenment
of One who is stronger and wiser than all
others/ "
"On an occasion I shall never forget," says
the Hon. H. C. Deming, of Connecticut, "the
conversation turned upon religious subjects, and
Mr. Lincoln made this impressive remark: 'I
have never united myself to any church, because
I have found difficulty in giving my assent,
without mental reservation, to the long, compli-
cated statements of Christian doctrine which
characterize their Articles of Belief and Con-
fessions of Faith. When any church will in-
scribe over its altar, as its sole qualification for
membership,' he continued, 'the Saviour's con-
densed statement of the substance of both Law
and Gospel, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself,"
that church will I join with all my heart and all
my soul.' "
On the Lord's Side.
No nobler reply ever fell from the lips of ruler,
than that uttered by President Lincoln in re-
sponse to the clergyman who ventured to say,
in his presence, that he hoped "the Lord was on
our side."
"I am not at all concerned about that," replied
Mr. Lincoln, "for I know that the Lord is
aki'ciys on the side of the right. But it is my
274 ANECDOTES
constant anxiety and prayer that / and this nation
should be on the Lord's side."
The President and the "Powder Monkey."
"President Lincoln," says the Hon. W. D.
Kelley,* "was a large and many-sided man, and
yet so simple that no one, not even a child, could
approach him without feeling that he had found
in him a sympathizing friend. I remember that
I apprised him of the fact that a lad, the son
of one of my townsmen, had served a year on
board the gunboat Ottazva, and had been in two
important engagements ; in the first as a powder-
monkey, when he had conducted himself with
such coolness that he had been chosen as cap-
tain's messenger in the second; and I suggested
to the President that it was in his power to send
to the Naval School, annually, three boys who
had served at least a year in the navy.
"He at once wrote on the back of a letter
from the commander of the Ottawa, which I
had handed him, to the Secretary of the Navy:
'If the appointments for this year have not been
made, let this boy be appointed.' The appoint-
ment had not been made, and I brought it home
with me. It directed the lad to report for ex-
amination at the school in July. Just as he was
ready to start, his father, looking over the law,
discovered that he could not report until he was
fourteen years of age, which he would not be
until September following. The poor child
sat down and wept. He feared that he was not
to go to the Naval School. He was, however,
soon consoled by being told that 'the President
•Address in Philadelphia upon the death of Mr. Lincoln.
LINCOLN AND NEGROES 275
could make it right.' It was my fortune to meet
him the next morning at the door of the Execu-
tive Chamber with his father.
"Taking by the hand the little fellow, — short
for his age, dressed in the sailor's blue pants
and shirt, — I advanced with him to the President,
who sat in his usual seat, and said: 'Mr. Presi-
dent, my young friend, Willie Bladen, finds a
dfficulty about his appointment. You have di-
rected him to appear at the school in July; but
he is not yet fourteen years of age.' But before
I got half of this out, Mr. Lincoln, laying down
his spectacles, rose and said: 'Bless me! is that
the boy who did so gallantly in those two great
battles? Why, I feel that I should bow to him,
and not he to me.'
'The little fellow had made his graceful bow.
The President took the papers at once, and as
soon as he learned that a postponement till Sep-
tember would suffice, made the order that the
lad should report in that month. Then putting
his hand on Willie's head, he said: 'Now, my
boy, go home and have good fun during the two
months, for they are about the last holidays you
will get.' The little fellow bowed himself out,
feeling that the President of the United States,
though a very great man, was one that he would
nevertheless like to have a game of romps with."
Lincoln and the Negroes.
"On New Year's day, 1865," wrote a corre-
spondent of the New York Independent, "a mem-
orable incident occurred, of which the like was
never before seen at the White House. I had
noticed at sundry times during the summer, the
276 ANECDOTES
wild fervor and strange enthusiasm which our
colored friends always manifest over the name
of Abraham Lincoln. His name with them seems
to be associated with that of his namesake, the
Father of the Faithful. In the great crowds
which gather from time to time in front of the
White House, in honor of the President, none
shout so loudly or so wildly, and swing their
hats with such utter abandon, while their eyes
are beaming with the intensest joy, as do these
simple-minded and grateful people. I have often
laughed heartily at these exhibitions. But the
scene yesterday excited far other emotions. As
I entered the door of the President's House, I
noticed groups of colored people gathered here
and there, who seemed to be watching earnestly
the inpouring throng. For nearly two hours they
hung around, until the crowd of white visitors
began sensibly to diminish. Then they sum-
moned up courage, and began timidly to approach
the door. Some of them were richly and gayly
dressed; some were in tattered garments, and
others in the most fanciful and grotesque cos-
tume. All pressed eagerly forward. When they
came into the presence of the President, doubt-
ing as to their reception, the feelings of the
poor creatures overcame them, and here the
scene baffles my powers of description.
"For two long hours Mr. Lincoln had been
shaking the hands of the 'sovereigns,' and had
become excessively weary, and his grasp languid ;
but here his nerves rallied at the unwonted sight,
and he welcomed this motley crowd with a hearti-
ness that made them wild with exceeding joy.
They laughed and wept, and wept and laughed —
exclaiming, through their blinding tears: 'God
LINCOLN AND NEGROES 277
bless you !' 'God bless Abraham Lincoln !' 'God
bress Massa LinkumF Those who witnessed
this scene will not soon forget it. For a long
distance down the Avenue, on my way
home, I heard fast young men cursing the
President for this act; but all the way the re-
frain rang in my ears,— 'God bless Abraham
Lincoln !' "
Miss Betsey Canedy, of Fall River, Massa-
chusetts, while engaged in teaching a school
among the colored people of Norfolk, Virginia,
had in her schoolroom a plaster bust of the
President. One day she called some colored
carpenters who were at work on the building,
and showed it to them, writing down their re-
marks, some of which were as follows :
"He's brought us safe through the Red Sea."
"He looks as deep as the sea himself." "He's
king of the United States." "He ought to be
king of all the world." "We must all pray to the
Lord to carry him safe through, for it^'pears
like he's got everything hitched to him." "There
has been a right smart praying for him, and it
mustn't stop now."
A southern correspondent of the New York
Tribune, in Charleston, South Carolina, the
week following the assassination, wrote :
"I never saw such sad faces, or heard such
heavy heart beatings, as here in Charleston the
day the dreadful news came ! The colored people
— the native loyalists — were like children be-
reaved of an only and loved parent. I saw one
old woman going up the street wringing her
hands and saying aloud, as she walked looking
straight before her, so absorbed in her grief that
she noticed no one, —
278 ANECDOTES
" 'O Lord ! O Lord ! O Lord ! Massa Sam's
dead! Massa Sam's dead! O Lord! Massa
Sam's dead!'
" 'Who's dead, Aunty ?' I asked her.
" 'Massa Sam!' she said, not looking at me, —
renewing her lamentations : 'O Lord ! O Lord !
Lord ! Massa Sam's dead !'
" 'Who's Massa Sam?' I asked.
" 'Uncle Sam!' she said. 'O Lord! Lord!'
"I was not quite sure that she meant the Pres-
ident, and I spoke again:
'"Who's Massa Sam, Aunty?'
" 'Mr. Linkum !' she said, and resumed wring-
ing her hands and moaning in utter hopelessness
of sorrow. The poor creature was too ignorant
to comprehend any difference between the very
unreal Uncle Sam and the actual President; but
her heart told her that he whom Heaven had
sent in answer to her prayers was lying in a
bloody grave, and she and her race were left —
fatherless."
In 1863, Colonel McKaye, of New York, with
Robert Dale Owen and one or two other gentle-
men, were associated as a committee to investi-
gate the condition of the freedmen on the coast
of North Carolina. Upon their return from Hil-
ton Head they reported to the President; and
in the course of the interview Colonel McKaye
related the following incident.
He had been speaking of the ideas of power
entertained by these people. He said they had
an idea of God, as the Almighty, and they had
realized in their former condition the power
of their masters. Up to the time of the arrival
among them of the Union forces, they had no
knowledge of any other power. Their masters
LINCOLN AND NEGROES 2y9
fled upon the approach of our soldiers, and this
gave the slaves a conception of a power greater
than that exercised by them. This power they
called "Massa Linkum."
Colonel McKaye said that their place of wor-
ship was a large building which they called "the
praise house"; and the leader of the meeting,
a venerable black man, was known as "the praise
man." On a certain day, when there was quite
a large gathering of the people, considerable
confusion was created by different persons at-
tempting to tell who and what "Massa Linkum"
was. In the midst of the excitement the white-
headed leader commanded silence. "Brederin,"
said he, "you don't know nosen' what you'se
talkin' 'bout. Now, you just listen to me. Massa
Linkum, he eberywhar. He know eberyting."
Then, solemnly looking up, he added, — "He walk
de carf like de Lord!"
Colonel McKaye told me that Mr. Lincoln
seemed much affected by this account. He did
not smile, as another man might have done, but
he got up from his chair, and walked in silence
two or three times across the floor. As he re-
sumed his seat, he said, very impressively: "It
is a momentous thing to be the instrument, under
Providence, of the liberation of a race."
"Upon entering the President's office one after-
noon," says a Washington correspondent, "I
found Mr. Lincoln busily counting greenbacks.
This, sir,' said he, 'is something out of my
usual line; but a President of the United States
has a multiplicity of duties not specified in the
Constitution or acts of Congress. This is one
of them. This money belongs to a poor negro
who is a porter in the Treasury Department,
28o ANECDOTES
at present very bad with the smallpox. He is
now in hospital and could not draw his pay
because he could not sign his name. I have been
at considerable trouble to overcome the difficulty
and get it for him, and have at length succeeded
in cutting red tape, as you newspaper men say.
I am now dividing the money and putting by a
portion labelled, in an envelope, with my own
hands, according to his wish' ; and he proceeded
to indorse the package very carefully." No one
witnessing the transaction could fail to appreciate
the goodness of heart which prompted the Pres-
ident of the United States to turn aside for a
time from his weighty cares to succor one of the
humblest of his fellow-creatures in sickness and
sorrow.
Mr. Lincoln's cordial reception of Frederick
Douglass, the distinguished anti-slavery orator,
also once a slave, was widely made known
through that gentleman's own account of it in
one of his public lectures.
In August or September, 1864, Mr. Douglass
again visited Washington. The President heard
of his being in the city, and greatly desiring a
second conversation upon points on which he
considered the opinion and advice of a man of
Mr. Douglass's antecedents valuable, he sent his
carriage to the boarding-house where he was
staying, with a request that Mr. D. would "come
up and take a cup of tea" with him. The invi-
tation was accepted; and probably never before,
in our history, was the executive carriage em-
ployed to convey such a guest to the White
House. Mr. Douglass subsequently remarked
that "Mr. Lincoln was one of the few white men
he ever passed an hour with, who failed to re-
TEMPERANCE PRINCIPLES 281
mind him in some way, before the interview ter-
minated, that he was a negro.' "
The Two Ruling Ideas of Lincoln's Life.
Schuyler Colfax once said to me that "Mr.
Lincoln had two ruling ideas, or principles, which
governed his life. The first was hatred of slav-
ery, which he inherited in part from his parents ;
the other was sympathy with the lowly born and
humble, and the desire to lift them up." I know
of no better epitaph for his tombstone than this,
save that suggested by Theodore Tilton, the edi-
tor of the New York Independent, — "He bound
the nation, and unbound the slave."
Lincoln's Temperance Principles.
After this ceremony [the formal notification of
his nomination for the Presidency] had passed,
Mr. Lincoln remarked to the company, that as
an appropriate conclusion to an interview so im-
portant and interesting as that which had just
transpired, he supposed good manners would re-
quire that he should treat the committee with
something to drink ; and opening a door that
led into a room in the rear, he called out "Mary !
Mary!" A girl responded to the call, to whom
Mr. Lincoln spoke a few words in an under-
tone, and, closing the door, returned again to
converse with his guests. In a few minutes the
maiden entered, bearing a large waiter, contain-
ing several glass tumblers, and a large pitcher
in tne midst, and placed it upon the centre-table.
Mr. Lincoln arose, and gravely addressing the
company, said : "Gentlemen, we must pledge our
282 ANECDOTES
mutual healths in the most healthy beverage
which God has given to man — it is the only bev-
erage I have ever used or allowed in my family,
and I cannot conscientiously depart from it on
the present occasion — it is pure Adam's ale from
the spring'; and, taking a tumbler, he touched
it to his lips, and pledged them his highest re-
spects in a cup of cold water. Of course, all his
guests were constrained to admire his consis-
tency, and to join in his example.
No Vices, Few Virtues.
A gentleman once complimented the President
on having no vices, neither drinking nor smok-
ing. "That is a doubtful compliment," answered
the President; "I recollect once being outside a
stage-coach, in Illinois, and a man sitting by me
offered me a cigar. I told him I had no vices.
He said nothing, but smoked for some time, and
then growled out : 'It's my experience that folks
who have no vices have generally very few vir-
tues.' "
Lincoln's Democratic Habits.
Some of Mr. Lincoln's immediate neighbors
were taken as completely by surprise [at his
nomination for the Presidency] as those in dis-
tant States. An old resident of Springfield told
me that there lived within a block or two of
his house, in that city, an Englishman, who of
course still cherished to some extent the ideas
and prejudices of his native land. Upon hear-
ing of the choice at Chicago he could not con-
tain his astonishment.
PERSONAL APPEARANCE 283
"What!" said he, "Abe Lincoln nominated for
President of the United States ? Can it be possi-
ble ! A man that buys a ten-cent beefsteak for
his breakfast, and carries it home himself."
Presidential Perquisites.
Mr. G. B. Lincoln also told me of an amusing-
circumstance which took place at Springfield soon
after Mr. Lincoln's nomination in i860. A hat-
ter in Brooklyn secretly obtained the size of the
future President's head, and made for him a
very elegant hat, which he sent by his towns-
man Lincoln to Springfield. About the time
it was presented, various other testimonials of
a similar character had come in from different
sections. Mr. Lincoln took the hat, and after
admiring its texture and workmanship, put it
on his head and walked up to a looking-glass.
Glancing from the reflection to Mrs. Lincoln,
he said, with his peculiar twinkle of the eye,
"Well, wife, there is one thing likely to come
out of this scrape, anyhow. We are going to
have some nezv clothes!"
Lincoln's Personal Appearance.
Mr. Lincoln's height was six feet three and
three-quarter inches "in his stocking-feet." He
stood up, one day, at the right of my large can-
vas, while I marked his exact height upon it.
His frame was gaunt but sinewy, and inclined
to stoop when he walked. His head was of full
medium size, with a broad brow, surmounted
by rough, unmanageable hair, which, he once
said, had "a way of getting up as far as possible
284 ANECDOTES
in the world." Lines of care ploughed his face,
— the hollows in his cheeks and under his eyes
being very marked. The mouth was his plainest
feature, varying widely from classical models, —
nevertheless expressive of much firmness and
gentleness of character.
His complexion was inclined to sallowness,
though I judged this to be the result, in part,
of his anxious life in Washington. His eyes
were bluish-gray in color, — always in deep shad-
ow, however, from the upper lids, which were
unusually heavy (reminding me, in this respect,
of Stuart's portrait of Washington), — and the
expression was remarkably pensive and tender,
often inexpressibly sad, as if the reservoir of
tears lay very near the surface, — a fact proved
not only by the response which accounts of suf-
fering and sorrow invariably drew forth, but by
circumstances which would ordinarily affect few
men in his position.
Mr. Lincoln was always ready to join in a
laugh at the expense of his person, concerning
which he was very indifferent. Many of his
friends will recognize the following story, — the
incident having actually occurred, — which he
used to tell with great glee: —
"In the days when I used to be 'on the cir-
cuit/ I was once accosted in the cars by a stran-
ger, who said, 'Excuse me, sir, but I have an
article in my possession which belongs to you/
'How is that?' I asked, considerably astonished.
The stranger took a jack-knife from his pocket.
'This knife,' said he, 'was placed in my hands
some years ago, with the injunction that I was
to keep it until I found a man uglier than my-
self. I have carried it from that time to this.
LINCOLN'S FIRST DOLLAR 285
Allow me now to say, sir, that I think you are
fairly entitled to the property.' "
Once when a Philadelphia delegation was be-
ing presented, the chairman of that body, in in-
troducing one of the members, said : "Mr. Presi-
dent, this is Mr. S , of the Second District
of our State, — a most active and earnest friend
of yours and the cause. He has, among other
things, been good enough to paint, and present
to our League rooms, a most beautiful portrait
of yourself." Mr. Lincoln took the gentleman's
hand in his, and shaking it cordially, said with
a merry voice, — "I presume, sir, in painting your
beautiful portrait, you took your idea of me from
my principles, and not from my person."
Lincoln's First Dollar.
In the Executive Chamber one evening, there
were present a number of gentlemen, among
them Mr. Seward.
A point in the conversation suggesting the
thought, the President said : "Seward, you never
heard, did you, how I earned my first dollar?"
"No," rejoined Mr. Seward. "Well," continued
Mr. Lincoln, "I was about eighteen years of age.
I belonged, you know, to what they call down
South, the 'scrubs' ; people who do not own slaves
are nobody there. But we had succeeded in
raising, chiefly by my labor, sufficient produce,
as I thought, to justify me in taking it down
the river to sell.
"After much persuasion, I got the consent of
mother to go, and constructed a little flatboat,
large enough to take a barrel or two of things
that we had gathered, with myself and little bun-
286 ANECDOTES
die, down to New Orleans. A steamer was com-
ing down the river. We have, you know, no
wharves on the Western streams; and the cus-
tom was, if passengers were at any of the land-
ings, for them to go out in a boat, the steamer
stopping and taking them on board.
"I was contemplating my new flatboat, and
wondering whether I could make it stronger or
improve it in any particular, when two men came
down to the shore in carriages with trunks, and
looking at the different boats singled out mine,
and asked, 'Who owns this?' I answered, some-
what modestly, 'I do.' 'Will you,' said one of
them, 'take us and our trunks out to the steam-
er ?' 'Certainly,' said I. I was very glad to have
the chance of earning something. I supposed
that each of them would give me two or three
bits. The trunks were put on my flatboat, the
passengers seated themselves on the trunks, and
I sculled them out to the steamboat.
"They got on board, and I lifted up their
heavy trunks, and put them on deck. The steamer
was about to put on steam again, when I called
out that they had forgotten to pay me. Each
of them took from his pocket a silver half-dollar,
and threw it on the floor of my boat. I could
scarcely believe my eyes as I picked up the
money. Gentlemen, you may think it was a very
little thing, and in these days it seems to me a
trifle ; but it was a most important incident in
my life. I could scarcely credit that I, a poor
boy, had earned a dollar in less than a day, —
that by honest work I had earned a dollar. The
world seemed wider and fairer before me. I
was a more hopeful and confident being from
that time."
LINCOLN'S FIRST FEE 287
Lincoln's First Big Fee.
Soon after Mr. Lincoln entered upon the prac-
tice of his profession at Springfield, he was en-
gaged in a criminal case in which it was thought
there was little chance of success. Throwing all
his powers into it, he came off victorious, and
promptly received for his services five hundred
dollars. A legal friend calling upon him the
next morning found him sitting before a table,
upon which his money was spread out, counting
it over and over. "Look here, Judge," said he ;
"see what a heap of money I've got from the
case. Did you ever see anything like it?
Why, I never had so much money in my life
before, put it all together!" Then crossing his
arms upon the table, his manner sobering down,
he added, "I have got just five hundred dollars :
if it was only seven hundred and fifty I would
go directly and purchase a quarter section of
land, and settle it upon my old step-mother."
His friend said that if the deficiency was all he
'needed, he would loan him the amount, taking
his note, to which Mr. Lincoln instantly acceded.
His friend then said: "Lincoln, I would not
do just what you have indicated. Your step-
mother is getting old, and will not probably live
many years. I would settle the property upon
her for her use during her lifetime, to revert to
you upon her death."
With much feeling, Mr. Lincoln replied: "I
shall do no such thing. It is a poor return, at
the best, for all the good woman's devotion and
fidelity to me, and there is not going to be any
half-way business about it;" and so saying, he
gathered up his money, and proceeded forthwith
288 ANECDOTES
to carry his long-cherished purpose into execu-
tion.
Hannibal's Treasury.
At a time of financial difficulty, a committee of
New York bankers waited upon the Secretary
of the Treasury and volunteered a loan to the
government, which was gratefully accepted. Mr.
Chase subsequently accompanied the gentlemen
to the White House and introduced them to the
President, saying they had called to have a talk
with him about money. "Money," replied Mr.
Lincoln; "I don't know anything about 'money.'
I never had enough of my own to fret me, and
I have no opinion about it any way."
"It is considered rather necessary to the carry-
ing on of a war, however," returned the Sec-
retary.
"Well, I don't know about that," rejoined Mr.
Lincoln, turning crosswise in his chair, swinging
both legs backward and forward. "We don't
read that 'Hannibal' had any 'money' to prose-
cute his wars with."
On Wall Street.
The bill empowering the Secretary of the
Treasury to sell the surplus gold had recently
passed, and Mr. Chase was then in New York,
giving his attention personally to the experiment.
Governor Curtin referred to this, saying, "I see
by the quotations that Chase's movement has
already knocked gold down several per cent."
This gave occasion for the strongest expression
I ever heard fall from the lips of Mr. Lincoln.
Knotting his face in the intensity of his feeling,
LOVE OF HUMOR 289
he said, "Curtin, what do you think of those
fellows in Wall Street, who are gambling in gold
at such a time as this?" "They are a set of
sharks," returned Curtin. 'Tor my part," con-
tinued the President, bringing his clinched hand
down upon the table, "I wish every one of them
had his devilish head shot off ! "
Lincoln's Love of Humor.
In a corner of his desk he kept a copy of the
latest humorous work ; and it was his habit when
greatly fatigued, annoyed, or depressed, to take
this up and read a chapter, frequently with great
relief.
Among the callers in the course of an even-
ing which I well remember, was a party com-
posed of two senators, a representative, an ex-
lieutenant-governor of a western State, and sev-
eral private citizens. They had business of great
importance, involving the necessity of the Presi-
dent's examination of voluminous documents. He
was at this time, from an unusual pressure of
office-seekers, in addition to his other cares, liter-
ally worn out. Pushing everything aside, he
said to one of the party : "Have you seen the
'Nasby Papers'?" "No, I have not," was the
answer ; "who is 'Nasby'?" "There is a chap out
in Ohio," returned the President, "who has been
writing a series of letters in the newspapers over
the signature of 'Petroleum V. Nasby.' Some
one sent me a pamphlet collection of them the
other day. I am going to write to 'Petroleum'
to come down here, and I intend to tell him if
he will communicate his talent to me, I will
'swap' places with him." Thereupon he arose,
290
ANECDOTES
went to a drawer in his desk, and, taking out the
"Letters," sat down and read one to the com-
pany, finding in their enjoyment of it the tem-
porary excitement and relief which another man
would have found in a glass of wine. The in-
stant he ceased, the book was thrown aside, his
countenance relapsed into its habitual serious ex-
pression, and the business before him was en-
tered upon with the utmost earnestness.
During the dark days of '62, the Hon. Mr.
Ashley, of Ohio, had occasion to call at the White
House early one morning, just after news of a
disaster. Mr. Lincoln commenced some trifling
narration, to which the impulsive congressman
was in no mood to listen. He rose to his feet
and said: "Mr. President, I did not come here
this morning to hear stories; it is too serious
a time.'' Instantly the smile faded from Mr.
Lincoln's face. "Ashley," said he, "sit down ! I
respect you as an earnest, sincere man. You can-
not be more anxious than I have been constantly
since the beginning of the war ; and I say to you
now, that were it not for this occasional vent, I
should die."
"A Yard Full of Bulls."
A gentleman was pressing very strenuously
the promotion of an officer to a "Brigadiership."
"But we have already more generals than we
know what to do with," replied the President.
"But," persisted the visitor, "my friend is very
strongly recommended." "Now, look here," said
Mr. Lincoln, throwing one leg over the arm of
his chair, "you are a farmer, I believe ; if not, you
will understand me. Suppose you had a large
INSTRUCTIONS TO COUNSEL 29 c
cattle-yard full of all sorts of cattle, — cows, oxen,
bulls, — and you kept killing and selling and dis-
posing of your cows and oxen, in one way and
another, — taking good care of your bulls. By-
and-by you would find that you had nothing but
a yard full of old bulls, good for nothing under
heaven. Now, it will be just so with the army,
if I don't stop making brigadier-generals."
Instructions to Counsel.
General Garfield, of Ohio, received from the
President an account of the capture of Nor-
folk, with the following preface : —
"By the way, Garfield," said Mr. Lincoln, "you
never heard, did you, that Chase, Stanton, and
I had a campaign of our own? We went down
to Fortress Monroe in Chase's revenue cutter,
and consulted with Admiral Goldsborough as to
the feasibility of taking Norfolk by landing on
the north shore and making a march of eight
miles. The Admiral said, very positively, there
was no landing on that shore, and we should
have to double the cape and approach the place
from the south side, which would be a long and
difficult journey. I thereupon asked him if he
had ever tried to find a landing, and he replied
that he had not. 'Now,' said I, 'Admiral, that
reminds me of a chap out West who had studied
law, but had never tried a case. Being sued,
and not having confidence in his ability to man-
age his own case, he employed a fellow-lawyer
to manage it for him. He had only a confused
idea of the meaning of law terms, but was anx-
ious to make a display of learning, and on the
292 ANECDOTES
trial constantly made suggestions to his lawyer,
who paid no attention to him. At last, fearing
that his lawyer was not handling the opposing
counsel very well, he lost all patience, and spring-
ing to his feet cried out, ''Why don't you go at
him with a capias, or a sarre-butter, or some-
thing, and not stand there like a confounded old
nudum-p actum?" ' "
Close Construction,
Late one evening, the President brought in to
see my picture his friend and biographer, the
Hon. J. H. Barrett, and a Mr. M , of Cincin-
nati. An allusion to a question of law in the
course of conversation suggesting the subject,
Mr. Lincoln said : ''The strongest example of
'rigid government' and 'close construction' I ever
knew, was that of Judge . It was once said
of him that he would hang a man for blowing
his nose in the street, but that he would quash
the indictment if it failed to specify which hand
he blew it with !"
Diplomatic Advice.
Upon the betrothal of the Prince of Wales to
the Princess Alexandra, Queen Victoria sent a
letter to each of the European sovereigns, and
also to President Lincoln, announcing the fact.
Lord Lyons, her ambassador at Washington, —
a "bachelor," by the way, — requested an audi-
ence of Mr. Lincoln, that he might present this
important document in person. At the time ap-
pointed he was received at the White House,
in company with Mr. Seward.
SETTING HIM AT EASE 293
"May it please your Excellency," said Lord
Lyons, "I hold in my hand an autograph letter
from my royal mistress, Queen Victoria, which
I have been commanded to present to your Ex-
cellency. In it she informs your Excellency that
her son, his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales,
is about to contract a matrimonial alliance with
her Royal Highness the Princess Alexandra of
Denmark."
After continuing in this strain for a few min-
utes, Lord Lyons tendered the letter to the Presi-
dent and awaited his reply. It was short, sim-
ple, and expressive, and consisted simply of the
words : —
"Lord Lyons, go thou and do likewise."
It is doubtful if an English ambassador was
ever addressed in this manner before, and it
would be interesting to learn what success he met
with in putting the reply in diplomatic language
when he reported it to her Majesty.
Setting Him at Ease.
A lieutenant, whom debts compelled to leave
his fatherland and service, succeeded in being
admitted to President Lincoln, and, by reason of
his commendable and winning deportment and
intelligent appearance, secured the promise of a
lieutenant's commission in a cavalry regiment.
He was so enraptured with his success, that he
deemed it a duty to inform the President that
he belonged to one of the oldest noble houses
in Germany. "Oh, never mind that," said Mr.
Lincoln ; "you will not find that to be an obstacle
to your advancement."
294 ANECDOTES
Democratic Abutments.
The antagonism between the northern and
southern sections of the Democratic party, which
culminated in the nomination of two separate
tickets in i860, was a subject to draw out one
of Mr. Lincoln's hardest hits.
."I once knew," said he, "a sound churchman
by the name of Brown, who was a member of
a very sober and pious committee having in
charge the erection of a bridge over a dangerous
and rapid river. Several architects failed, and
at last Brown said he had a friend named Jones,
who had built several bridges and undoubtedly
could build that one. So Mr. Jones was called
in. 'Can you build this bridge?' inquired the
committee. 'Yes,' replied Jones, 'or any other.
I could build a bridge to the infernal regions, if
necessary!' The committee were shocked, and
Brown felt called upon to defend his friend. T
know Jones so well,' said he, 'and he is so hon-
est a man and so good an architect, that if he
states soberly and positively that he can build
a bridge to — to , why, I believe it ; but I feel
bound to say that I have my doubts about the
abutment on the infernal side.' So," said Mr.
Lincoln, "when politicians told me that the north-
ern and southern wings of the Democracy could
be harmonized, why, I believed them, of course ;
but I always had my doubts about the 'abutment'
on the other side."*
Lincoln's "Influence with the Administration."
Judge Baldwin of California, being in Wash-
ington, called one day on General Halleck, and,
Abbott's ''History of the Civil War."
A LIVE WARD 2g$
presuming upon a familiar acquaintance in Cali-
fornia a few years before, solicited a pass out-
side of our lines to see a brother in Virginia,
not thinking that he would meet with a refusal,
as both his brother and himself were good Union
men. "We have been deceived too often," said
General Halleck, "and I regret I can't grant it."
Judge B. then went to Stanton, and was very
briefly disposed of, with the same result. Finally,
he obtained an interview with Mr. Lincoln, and
stated his case. "Have you applied to General
Halleck?" inquired the President. "Yes, and
met with a flat refusal," said Judge B. "Then
you must see Stanton," continued the President.
"I have, and with the same result," was the re-
ply. "Well, then," said Mr. Lincoln, with a smile,
"I can do nothing; for you must know that I
have very little influence with this Administra-
tion."
Another Ward Heard From.
When the telegram from Cumberland Gap
reached Mr. Lincoln that "firing was heard in
the direction of Knoxville," he remarked that
he was "glad of it." Some person present, who
had the perils of Burnside's position uppermost
in his mind, could not see why Mr. Lincoln
should be glad of it, and so expressed himself.
"Why, you see," responded the President, "it
reminds me of Mistress Sallie Ward, a neighbor
of mine, who had a very large family. Occa-
sionally one of her numerous progeny would be
heard crying in some out-of-the-way place, upon
which Airs. Ward would exclaim, There's one
of my children that isn't dead yet.' "
296 ANECDOTES
Weeping Water.
Some gentlemen fresh from a western tour,
during a call at the White House, referred in
the course of conversation to a body of water in
Nebraska which bore an Indian name signifying
"weeping water." Mr. Lincoln instantly re-
sponded : "As laughing water,' according to
Longfellow, is 'Minnehaha/ this evidently should
be 'Minneboohoo.' "
"Apple Overboard!"
A farmer from one of the border counties went
to the President on a certain occasion with the
complaint that the Union soldiers in passing his
farm had helped themselves not only to hay but
to his horse; and he hoped the proper officer
would be required to consider his claim imme-
diately.
"Why, my good sir," replied Mr. Lincoln, "if
I should attempt to consider every such individ-
ual case, I should find work enough for twenty
Presidents ! In my early days, I knew one Jack
Chase, who was a lumberman on the Illinois,
and, when steady and sober, the best raftsman
on the river. It was quite a trick twenty-five
years ago to take the logs over the rapids, but
he was skilful with a raft, and always kept her
straight in the channel. Finally a steamer was
put on, and Jack — he's dead now, poor fellow ! —
was made captain of her. He always used to
take the wheel, going through the rapids. One
day, when the boat was plunging and wallow-
ing along the boiling current, and Jack's utmost
vigilance was being exercised to keep her in the
SORRY FOR HORSES
297
narrow channel, a boy pulled his coat-tail and
hailed him with : 'Say, Mister Captain ! I wish
you would just stop your boat a minute — I've
lost my apple overboard !' "
"Sitting on the Blister."
In August, 1864, the prospects of the Union
party, in reference to the Presidential election,
became very gloomy. A friend, the private sec-
retary of one of the cabinet ministers, who spent
a few days in New York at this juncture, re-
turned to Washington with so discouraging an
' account of the political situation, that after hear-
ing it, the Secretary told him to go over to the
White House and repeat it to the President.
My friend said that he found Mr. Lincoln alone,
looking more than usually careworn and sad.
Upon hearing the statement, he walked two or
three times across the floor in silence. Return-
ing, he said with grim earnestness of tone and
manner: "Well, I cannot run the political ma-
chine; I have enough on my hands without that.
It is the people's business, — the election is in
their hands. If they turn their backs to the fire,
and get scorched in the rear, they'll find they
have got to 'sit' on the 'blister' !"
Sorry to Lose the Horses.
A juvenile "Brigadier" from New York, with
a small detachment of cavalry, having impru-
dently gone within the Rebel lines near Fairfax
Court House, was captured by "guerrillas." Upon
the fact being reported to Mr. Lincoln, he said
that he was very sorry to lose the horses !
298 ANECDOTES
"What do you mean?" inquired his informant.
"Why," rejoined the President, "I can make
a better 'brigadier' any day; but those horses
cost the government a hundred and twenty-five
dollars a head!"
The Strength of the Confederate Forces.
Mr. Lincoln sometimes had a very effective
way of dealing with men who troubled him with
questions. A visitor once asked him how many
men the Rebels had in the field. The President
replied, very seriously, "Twelve hundred thou-
sand, according to the best authority." The in-
terrogator blanched in the face, and ejaculated,
"Good Heavens !" "Yes, sir ; twelve hundred
thousand — no doubt of it. You see, all of our
generals, when they get whipped, say the enemy
outnumbers them from three or five to one, and
I must believe them. We have four hundred
thousand men in the field, and three times four
make twelve. Don't you see it?"
Chase's "Chin-fly."
"Within a month after Mr. Lincoln's first
accession to office," says the Hon. Mr. Raymond,
"when the South was threatening civil war, and
armies of office-seekers were besieging him in
the Executive Mansion, he said to a friend that
he wished he could get time to attend to the
Southern question ; he thought he knew what
was wanted, and believed he could do something
towards quieting the rising discontent; but the
office-seekers demanded all his time. T am,' said
he, 'like a man so busy in letting rooms in one
SECRETARY CHASE 2^9
end of his house, that he can't stop to put out
the fire that is burning the other.' Two or three
years later, when the people had made him a
candidate for reelection, the same friend spoke to
him of a member of his Cabinet who was a can-
didate also. Mr. Lincoln said he did not concern
himself much about that. It was important to
the country that the department over which his
rival presided should be administered with vigor
and energy, and whatever would stimulate the
Secretary to such action would do good.
*R ,' said he, 'you were brought up on a farm,
were you not? Then you know what a chin-
fly is. My brother and I,' he added, 'were once
ploughing corn on a Kentucky farm, I driving
the horse, and he holding the plough. The horse
was lazy; but on one occasion rushed across the
field so that I, with my long legs, could scarcely
keep pace with him. On reaching the end of
the furrow, I found an enormous chin-fly fast-
ened upon him, and knocked him off. My brother
asked me what I did that for. I told him I didn't
want the old horse bitten in that way. "Why,"
said my brother, "that's all that made him go!".
Now,' said Mr. Lincoln, 'if Mr. has a presi-
dential chin-fly biting him, I'm not going to
knock him off, if it will only make his depart-
ment go.' "
Appointment of Chase as Chief Justice.
The Hon. Mr. Frank, of New York, told me
that just after the nomination of Mr. Chase as
Chief Justice, a deeply interesting conversation
upon this subject took place one evening be-
tween himself and the President, in Mrs. Lin-
300 ANECDOTES
coin's private sitting-room. Mr. Lincoln re-
viewed Mr. Chase's political course and aspira-
tions at some length, alluding to what he had
felt to be an estrangement from him personally,
and to various sarcastic and bitter expressions
reported to him as having been indulged in by
the ex-Secretary, both before and after his res-
ignation. The Congressman replied that such
reports were always exaggerated, and spoke very
warmly of Mr. Chase's great services in the
hour of the country's extremity, his patriotism,
and integrity to principle. The tears instantly
sprang into Mr. Lincoln's eyes. "Yes," said he,
"that is true. We have stood together in the
time of trial, and I should despise myself if I
allowed personal differences to affect my judg-
ment of his fitness for the office of Chief Jus-
tice."
Fremont's Cave of Adullam.
The interview at which this conversation took
place, occurred just after General Fremont had
declined to run against him for the presidency.
The magnificent Bible which the negroes of Balti-
more had just presented to him lay upon the
table, and Lincoln asking Colonel Deming if
he remembered the text which his friends
had recently applied to Fremont, instantly
turned to a verse in the first of Samuel,
put on his spectacles, and read in his slow, pecu-
liar, and waggish tone : "And every one that was
in distress, and every one that was in debt, and
every one that was discontented, gathered them-
selves unto him, and he became a captain over
them, and there were with him about four hun-
dred men."
BORROWING THE ARMY 301
Grant's Brand of Whiskey.
Just previous to the fall of Vicksburg, a self-
constituted committee, solicitous for the morale
of our armies, took it upon themselves to visit
the President and urge the removal of General
Grant. In some surprise Mr. Lincoln inquired,
"For what reason ?" "Why," replied the spokes-
man, "he drinks too much whiskey." "Ah !"
rejoined Mr. Lincoln, dropping his lower lip.
"By the way, gentlemen, can either of you tell
me where General Grant procures his whiskey?
because, if I can find out, I will send every gen-
eral in the field a barrel of it!"
On McClellan's Engineering Propensities.
About two weeks after the Chicago Conven-
tion, the Rev. J. P. Thompson, of New York,
asked the President : "What do you think, Mr.
President, is the reason General McClellan does
not reply to the letter from the Chicago Conven-
tion?" "Oh!" replied Mr. Lincoln, with a char-
acteristic twinkle of the eye, "he is intrenching."
Some gentlemen were discussing in Mr. Lin-
coln's presence on a certain occasion General Mc-
Clellan's military capacity. "It is doubtless true
that he is a good 'engineer,' " said the President ;
"but he seems to have a special talent for devel-
oping a 'stationary' engine."
Borrowing McClellan's Army.
"On another occasion the President said he
was in great distress (about the possibility of
soon beginning operations with the Army of the
Potomac) ; he had been to General McClellan's
house, and the General did not ask to see him.
302 ANECDOTES
To use his own expression, if something was not
soon done, the bottom would fall out of the whole
affair, and if General McClellan did not want to
use the army, he would like to borrow it, provided
he could see how it could be made to do some-
thing."
A Convenient Escape.
Upon Mr. Lincoln's return to Washington, af-
ter the capture of Richmond, a member of the
Cabinet asked him if it would be proper to per-
mit Jacob Thompson to slip through Maine in
disguise, and embark from Portland. The Presi-
dent, as usual, was disposed to be merciful, and
to permit the arch-rebel to pass unmolested, but
the Secretary urged that he should be arrested
as a traitor. "By permiting him to escape the
penalties of treason," persistently remarked the
Secretary, "you sanction it." "Well," replied
Mr. Lincoln, "let me tell you a story. There
was an Irish soldier here last summer, who
wanted something to drink stronger than water,
and stopped at a drug-shop, where he espied a
soda-fountain. 'Mr. Doctor,' said he, 'give me,
plase, a glass of soda-wather, an' if yees can
put in a few drops of whiskey unbeknown to any
one, I'll be obleeged.' Now," continued Mr. Lin-
coln, "if Jake Thompson is permitted to go
through Maine unbeknown to any one, what's
the harm? So don't have him arrested."
One of the latest of Mr. Lincoln's stories
was told to a party of gentlemen, who, amid
the tumbling ruins of the 'Confederacy,' anx-
iously asked "what he would do with 'Jeff Da-
vis'?"
LAST CABINET MEETING 303
"There was a boy in Springfield," rejoined
Mr. Lincoln, "who saved up his money and
bought a 'coon,' which, after the novelty wore
off, became a great nuisance. He was one day
leading him through the streets, and had his
hands full to keep clear of the little vixen, who
had torn his clothes half off him. At length
he sat down on the curb-stone, completely fagged
out. A man passing was stopped by the lad's
disconsolate appearance, and asked the matter.
'Oh/ was the reply, 'this coon is such a trouble
to me!' 'Why don't you get rid of him, then?'
said the gentleman. 'Hush !' said the boy ; 'don't
you see he is gnawing his rope off? I am going
to let him do it, and then I will go home and
tell the folks that he got away from me?' "
The Last Cabinet Meeting.
At the Cabinet meeting held the morning of
the day of the assassination, it was afterward
remembered, a remarkable circumstance oc-
curred. General Grant was present, and during
a lull in the discussion the President turned to
him and asked if he had heard from General
Sherman. General Grant replied that he had
not, but was in hourly expectation of receiving
despatches from him announcing the surrender
of Johnston.
"Well," said the President, "you will hear
very soon now, and the news will be important."
"Why do you think so ?" said the General.
"Because," said Mr. Lincoln, "I had a dream
last night ; and ever since the war began, I have
invariably had the same dream before any im-
portant military event occurred." He then in-
304 ANECDOTES
£>/
stanced Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, ef!c.,
and said that before each of these events, he
had had the same dream ; and turning to Secre
tary Welles, said : "It is in your line, too, Mr
Welles. The dream is, that I saw a ship sailing
very rapidly; and I am sure that it portend,
some important national event."
Later in the day, dismissing all business, th
carriage was ordered for a drive. When aske
by Mrs. Lincoln if he would like any one t
accompany them, he replied, "No ; I prefer tc
ride by ourselves to-day." Mrs. Lincoln subse
quently said that she never saw him seem so
supremely happy as on this occasion. In reply
to a remark to this effect, the President said:
"And well I may feel so, Mary, for I conside,
this day the war has come to a close." Anc
then added: "We must both be more cheerful
in the future; between the war and the loss
of our darling Willie, we have been very misera-
ble."
Tad's Grief at His Father's Death.
Little "Tad" was frantic with grief. Fo.
twenty-four hours the little fellow was perfectly
inconsolable. Sunday morning, however, the sun
rose in unclouded splendor, and in his simplicity
he looked upon this as a token that his father
was happy. "Do you think my father has gone
to heaven?" he asked of a gentleman who had
called upon Mrs. Lincoln. "I have not a doubt
of it," was the reply. "Then," he exclaimed, in
his broken way, "I am glad he has gone there,
for he never was happy after he came here. This
was not a good place for him !"
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
9/11